Into the Blue Sky
by AdrianTepes001
Summary: Set during S8 of BtVS and S6 of AtS  Comics-verse , the actions of Champions have brought changes. This is the story of how those changes affected one man.
1. Episode One 'Broken'

Into the Blue Sky

By Adrian Tepes

Rating: PG-13 to R.

Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, just after "_Long Way home Part 1_" before "_Long Way Home Part 2_".

Episode One: **Broken**. 

'The problem with a changed world is, you're not quite sure where everything fits anymore,' thought Xander Harris. The morning sun's rays pierced the clouds overhead, giving them enough light to read the display outside of the museum.

"I bet it's Chinese," Leah said examining the sign.

"Nah, Korean," Rowena replied, following her lead.

"Actually, Doctor Williams just returned from a dig in Hokkaidō, so it's probably Japanese."

Leah and Rowena turned and mock glared at their companion, and Xander simply smiled, deftly stepping between the two of them. Without turning around, he continued, "Glare all you want. I've got lots of practice at withstanding angry female stares."

The two Slayers looked at each other, shrugged and followed him into the museum. The trio paused briefly inside the entrance as Xander looked around. Apparently, Xander found what he was looking for and started walking with the girls trailing behind him.

"So," Leah began, "why are we here again?"

"Because Doctor Williams is an ancient languages expert including some that aren't," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "human." He continued, bringing his voice back up, "Besides, we're no closer to finding out what that symbol we found means. So I'm using a lifeline."

He turned around and faced his two charges, "Rather than figure everything out at the last minute, I'm going with a new approach."

Striding inside the older building, the trio paused to look around. The museum's interior was bare and slate gray. Xander kept walking, leading his two slayers past a few mundane exhibits, down a hallway. The trio made their way past a vacant guard post.

"Ah, hello Xander."

Waving to them at the head of a flight of stairs was an older looking man. Dr. Williams was in his late fifties, overweight and balding. He shook Xander's hand and led them back down a corridor past empty glass displays. Stepping inside, Xander and the girls glanced around at the doctor's office. Inside, they saw a pair of crates, one already opened with the contents, an ornate chest sitting on top.

"What's that?" Leah moved closer to examine the chest.

Williams nodded at his question. "Those are what I found in Japan."

Xander walked nearer to chest and looked at it. He ran his hand along the surface, feeling its textures and looking more closely at the exterior."What are these carvings?" Xander looked up to see the other man with a bemused look on his face.

"I'm not exactly sure. As you may have noticed, the design seems to tell a story." The professor stood up and walked over to the chest. He ran his hands in the middle of the lid, saying, "Here you can see what looks like a man," he pointed out one figure, "holding up something precious," a carving of the male figure holding something, "then, as you see, he begins confronting these other creatures," Xander followed, noting that figure looked slightly different in each inscription.

"And here is the end where the man confronts… himself." William's hands rested on final set showing the man now very carefully carved to look like a beast meeting someone that looked like him.

"Seems kind of painful," Rowena offered.

"Such trials are common in many ancient peoples" the doctor offered, "A warrior overcame several dangerous trials to save his tribe." He paused. "I'm sure as slayers, you girls know that."

Leah and Rowena glanced at each other then at him. Williams smiled, "I've dug many things out of the earth. Not all of them were pleasant. I learned a long time ago about slayers, vampires, demons and other things not ready to be featured in Scientific American."

A shrill scream punctuated his statement, drawing all of their attention. The group looked at each other before glancing at the doorway.

A second scream, cut off midway through, had them moving out the door and back towards the stairs. At the bottom of the stairwell, a group of what looked like frightened museum guards were getting slaughtered by a monster.

They watched as the fiendish-looking biped batted aside a few of the living guards with two of its limbs while two more gripped another guard. The creature raised the terrified man to its snarling face and sank its fangs into his head. The guard's body struggled for a moment, and then ceased moving. Afterwards, it tossed aside the lifeless corpse and the creature's attention turned towards the surviving guards.

Wordlessly, Leah and Rowena drew weapons from within their coats and at a nod from Xander, they charged the monster. Xander watched as both slayers started attacking the beast.

From his viewpoint at the top of the stairs, Xander watched as each girl's blows struck home, but didn't seem to abate the beast's fury in the least. Leah stabbed the monster through its torso even as Rowena chopped at neck level. The creature growled at the attacks, swatting and trying grab either one with its claws, but didn't seem very much bothered by the attacks.

"Come on, Doc," Xander pulled the other man back towards his office, "They can handle it from here. " Xander's hand went inside his coat, reassuring himself that his gun was still there.

Back downstairs, Leah cursed, "DAMNIT! Nothing we are doing is even slowing it down." She stabbed the monster again, her sword failing to penetrate its hide. Rowena glanced down at her own blade, "Maybe we need to hit it in a vital place, like Mr. Harris said back in training demo."

"Or maybe we need a break," Leah said as she blocked and parried the monster's wild swings.

Rowena sheathed her sword, circled around the monster and leapt on its back. She grabbed the monster's head and snapped the creature's neck with a loud crack.

"There." she said in an exhausted tone as she started to push herself up off the floor where they'd fallen after killing it.

Behind her, a third set of limbs attached to the creature twitched, then yanked the slayer off it and flung her to the ground as the monster screeched, spun and sprayed white liquid all over the area.

"What the f-!" Leah dodged and rolled away from the monster. Rowena wasn't as fortunate and was caught by the blast, prompting her to shriek. "What is this?"

The spider-like beast leapt away, skittering away on that third set of legs, and headed upstairs. Leah wanted to follow but found the area blocked by now thick, solid webbing. And Rowena was caught in the middle of it.

"This sucks," the girl declared as she struggled against the webbing, unable to tear free. "Got any ideas?" Leah glanced around, and saw something, "I'll be right back."

Rowena struggled again, failing to free herself, "Oh, I'm not going anywhere."

The spider-beast crossed the gap between the top of the stairs and the doorway to the professor's office in a single bound and knocked the door off its hinges. The creature stepped inside and promptly had a handgun shoved in its face.

Xander proceeded to empty his gun into the monster's face. The monster wasn't phased in the least, and backhanded him out of the way. He went sprawling into the opened crate, knocking the chest onto the ground. The side of the chest cracked open, spilling its contents onto the floor of the office.

The spider-like monster seemed to stare at the object and started towards it. That's when the professor's voice reached him. "Xander, Are you all right?"

"But I think Fugly wants your new treasure trinket", he responded. "I have an idea. A really bad idea." Xander scrabbled to his feet and snatched the chest's contents away from the monster before bolting down the hallway towards the exit door. Xander paused there to see what he was holding.

"What the...A belt?" An emphatic roar drew his attention back to the beast as it entered the hall.

"Time to go," he decided as he bolted out the door and headed up the stairs to the roof.

Once there, he looked around for anything to use as a weapon and saw absolutely nothing useful. Xander held the belt closer and examined it. The artifact looked to be made of ceramic and was surprisingly pliable. The unearthly growl of the beast as it ripped open the door got his attention again. It saw him holding the belt and roared again.

Xander looked out into the city, teeming with people and made a choice. He put the belt around his waist, and shouted at the monster, "Hey, Ugly! I've got your – urk! ", he said before he collapsed to the ground.

"Almost got it." Leah swung the axe one more time and severed the last thread, and Rowena happily ripped the last strands from her body.

Reunited, the pair of slayers charged up the stairs and found the professor in the doorway to his office. Battered and bruised, he gestured towards the exit door at the end of the hall. They raced down the hall and flew up the stairs to find an empty rooftop.

Or rather, it would have been, had Xander not been lying on the ground, clutching at his midsection. Leah was immediately by his side, crouched, and asking, "What happened?"

"Oh a random act of stupidity" he responded. The bottom of his shirt and top of his pants had been neatly sliced off. Xander looked around. "Whatever that thing was, it's gone now, and we'd better do the same."

Rowena asked, "And Dr. Williams?"

"I'll be fine," They turned and saw the older man in the doorway. "Now come along, before the bobbies start asking questions."

The trio nodded and headed towards the door.

* * *

Hours later, during the early evening, Xander awoke from his nap. He tried to shake the rainbow images from his dreams as he mechanically undressed and took a hot shower. Visions of brightly colored figures had dominated his dreams. Red, blue, green and purple had led the way, before giving way to a final figure only shown in black.

Xander grunted as he turned the shower nozzle all the way up and basked in the hot water. Mechanically, he washed up, exiting into his steamy bathroom. He wiped the fogged up mirror, to see his reflection as he re-applied his eye patch.

"Technicolor dreams not included," he murmured to himself.

His phone rang as he finished dressing in silence,

"Yeah, I'm ready. Of course, I'm going with you this time. It's just a standard demon hunt."

A little while later, "Because you said you didn't do this sort of thing, anymore", Buffy reminded him. She glanced around the rooftop, looking for evidence of the escaped demon.

"A night on the town with three young, beautiful women? What single man would resist?" Xander joked.

"No sign of it, ma'am," Renee interjected.

"Nothing here," Satsu added.

Buffy looked around dejected. "Well, that sucks. Xander, what..."

She saw him at one of the corners, gazing at another building. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking, that there's really only one building this high up, that has an accessible rooftop, that big stupid could reach very quickly."

Buffy followed his gaze and focused on the boarded windows of the nearby building. The rooftop entrance faced away from them towards the front of the structure. Renee and Satsu joined them, each peering into the gap between the buildings.

Xander mentally calculated the gap. "That's almost too far to jump."

Beside him, Satsu backed up from the edge, and then ran at top speed toward the edge of the building, jumping as soon as she reached it. Xander watched as she crossed the gap and landed with room to spare.

"Not for a slayer," Buffy grinned as she grabbed his arm. Xander very quickly figured out what was going on, "Oh no!"

"Ready, Renee?" the other slayer latched on his opposite arm, "Ready."

"Now, wait a minute," he began as they moved away from the building's edge. Buffy and Renee gripped his arms, "One, Two,"

"I'm going to regret this."

"Three." And the group raced to the edge and leaped. Xander's heart caught in his throat as they crossed over the gap and landed on the adjacent building. He immediately dropped to his knees and took a deep breath.

"Ma'am." Satsu called from where she stood in front of the entrance, "The door to this place is open. Looks like something wrenched it off the hinges."

"I think we've found our Perp-demon. You want to come with?"

"I'll wait here, thanks. One life-threatening leap per hour is my limit."

"Shall I keep an eye on him?" Renee received a nod as Buffy motioned to Satsu, "We can handle this." The duo moved inside the building as Xander stood up.

"You didn't have to come along, you know. Buffy and I have done this before."

"Satsu was determined to see this thing that got the best of Leah and Rowena."

"That's her reasoning. What's yours?"

She shrugged. "Girls night out."

"Yay," he deadpanned.

He moved to the entrance and peered inside. The landing was clear as he ventured inward and headed down the stairs, Renee on his heels. At the bottom of the stairwell, he found the doorway open and moved inside. The whole second floor was empty, save for covered furniture and another stairway leading downstairs.

Xander moved to the edge of the stairs, calling out as he did so.

"How's it looking down there?"

Buffy and Satsu had spread out along the lower level. Several benches covered in dusty sheets filled the area. Here and there groups of candles lit the area, while along the walls were the trappings of an old church, with crosses and pictures adorning the place.

Buffy peered under one of the wrappings, "Pew." She looked back up him. "Place looks deserted."

Her head turned in Satsu's direction, "Anything?"

Satsu frowned, "Nothing."

Behind her, a thing emerged from the shadows. The Asian slayer reacted to the expressions on Buffy's face and whirled to face the threat.

A creature larger than a man and with grotesque claws slashed at her. As its arms extended, a thin membrane of skin was visible along its sides connecting its torso to its arms. Fast as it was, Satsu was faster and dodged the attack. She kicked the monster and plunged the blade of her dagger into its hide.

The slayer yanked the weapon away, leaving behind no mark on the skin of the monster.

"KUSO!"

Buffy hefted her own weapon of choice. "Brought the heavy hitter", she said as she hefted the silver and crimson scythe recovered in the Sunnydale ruins.

She charged, ignored the wild swings of the monster and hacked at the thing's torso and neck. Buffy felt her strikes hit home. Gripping the handle tighter, she ripped it across the body of the monster, and then finished it with a kick that sent the monster flying.

Buffy's smirk faded as the beast rose, unharmed by her attack and charged the duo. Satsu moved to strike at the thing's flank even as Buffy defended herself from its clumsy assault. The pair easily pierced the monster's guard and struck it several times without consequence. Buffy's frustration grew as her confidence began to waver.

"That's not the guy from the museum," Xander declared as he watched them fight.

"It's not?" Renee asked from behind him. He turned to face her and his facial expression immediately changed, "Nope. *That's* the creature from the museum", he said as he pointed behind her. Renee turned and found herself facing the murderous beat that had bested two slayers earlier that day. Xander unlimbered the crossbow he had brought with him even as she drew her sword and attacked it in melee combat. Loading a bolt, he shifted, trying to find a clear shot to take. Xander ended up on the other side of the beast, waiting for Renee to get clear. As soon as she back flipped away from the monster, he took a shot. The bolt briefly penetrated the monster's hide before the monster roared and expelled it with no marks.

"Crap." He dropped the crossbow and drew another weapon from his pants pocket. Holding it in his hands, he turned the dial to its maximum setting before gesturing at Renee, "Stun gun. Maybe we can't kill it the normal way, but I bet he'll feel this in the morning."

Renee nodded before launching into a series of attacks, trying to distract the beast. Xander closed to within a few feet before the monster became aware of his presence. He closed the distance between him and it, jamming the taser into the thing's torso. It shrieked as the electricity coursed through its frame. And for a second, Xander thought he had done it. Right up until the beast's limbs knocked the taser from his grasp and lifted him up to its eye level.

"Oh, I don't think so," Renee interjected, stabbing the monster's lower back even as she kicked at the legs supporting its torso. The demon howled and punched Xander hard enough that he went back through the doorway and landed at the foot of the stairs. At the same time, it expelled a quantity of webbing again, neatly ensnaring Renee in it.

Xander groaned as he tried to stand. "My next concussion is only an inch away".

Through the remains of the door, he could see the monster was holding Renee's tightly bound body over its head, as it prepared to pitch her to the lower level. At that moment, a lot of thoughts started running through his head.

'Renee's in trouble, Buffy's in trouble. I… I have to do something.'

Unbidden, he felt something materialize around his waist, as though pulled from within his body with no discomfort. Xander glanced down and recognized it immediately.

'The belt from the museum – it's the key to stopping these things.' A voice in the back in of his head insisted if he did this, there was no going back.

"Satsu, move NOW!" Buffy commanded and together they leaped forward and caught Renee as she was hurled through the air.

"Are you all right?" the Japanese girl asked her sister slayer.

"I'm fine, but Mr. Harris -" Renee began as she struggled to her feet. The trio turned to face the monster as it opened its mouth and let loose a high pitched shriek.

Immediately, all three girls collapsed holding their heads. The monster growled and knocked over some the candles. Their flames ignited the sheets covering the pews and the fire started to spread quickly throughout the room.

"I think my eardrums burst" Buffy shouted.

Xander crossed his arms in front of himself and spoke a single word. A word he knew instinctively felt 'right'.

"Henshin."

As soon as he said it, he felt the belt react with an audible hum and then his vision brightened. He charged into battle and launched a fist at the spider-demon.

"Ma'am, Look." Buffy turned her gaze from the monster they were fighting to the upper level where the other demon lurked. An armored red figure was fighting that monster, and the unknown party connected with a haymaker that knocked the demon backwards, giving it enough time to pause and look down at them.

"A friend?" Satsu asked.

Buffy cocked her head, "I don't know" she admitted. The monster they were fighting seized the opportunity and slashed at her throat, barely missing.

'Dammit,' Xander cursed mentally; he'd almost gotten Buffy killed by distracting her.

He quickly refocused his attention on the monster standing in front of him. Several punches to the face and body had left no discernible marks on its form, yet he could sense its weakened state. Still, it refused to die and blocked his way. Below them, the other monster had managed to grab Satsu's head between its claws.

Xander felt a spark of anger flood through his body and growled.

"Get out of the WAY!" He cried as he kicked the spider beast's chest with enough force to knock it off the balcony.

The beast slammed into a table, shattering it and causing enough of a distraction for Satsu to break free. The monster he'd disabled moved its head feebly as a point of yellow light on its torso intensified. Xander thought he discerned some sort of symbol there, even as energy arced towards its midsection, followed by a great cracking sound. At that, the monster stopped moving and lay still. Then its body suddenly exploded in a greenish fireball that added to the flames already starting to consume the building.

Buffy made to head upstairs but was stopped by Satsu. "Ma'am, we have to get out of here, the building is going to burn up."

"But Xander," Buffy began, even as Renee popped up beside her and said, "He'll be okay. He taught us you can't save anyone, if you're dead".

Buffy acquiesced and the trio of Slayers quickly made their way out of the burning and collapsing building.

Outside, they turned and watched the roof cave in on the structure and Buffy's fears began to grow.

"Buffy."

Hearing someone call her name, she turned and saw Xander running towards them unharmed,

"Are you all right?" she demanded as she grabbed him and hugged him, "We thought you were still in the there."

"Buffy, slayer strength, crushing me…" the tiny blonde relented.

"That new guy got me out before everything fell apart."

"Any ideas what's going on?"

"Not right now. Let's get out of here before things get really confusing."


	2. Episode Two 'Torn'

Into the Blue Sky

By Adrian Tepes

Rating: PG-13 to R.

Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, just after _"The Long way Home part 3-4"_

Episode Two: **Torn**

Xander closed the book he had been reading and replaced it on the shelf. Mechanically, he selected another and started flipping pages. This was the less glamorous portion of his job - grab a book and look stuff up, as Giles once said. Renee found him with a bored expression on his face, halfway through the volume.

"What are you looking for?"

"Just seeing if we missed anything the first time we went through these books," Xander replied. He finished perusing the book and closed it.

"You know, this would be a lot easier if we could just look them all up in a database. Maybe we should scan the books into the computers?"

"Yeah, we tried that. It didn't end well," he paused, "led to a lonely demon stalking Willow."

Renee got a confused look on her face, "Ms. Rosenberg? But why would a demon stalk her?"

"Pull up a chair and I'll tell you about it. Just promise you won't tell anyone else. She's kind of embarrassed about it, now."

Renee complied and Xander began his story, sticking to the facts as he best remembered them. Renee's face went through a variety of emotions from concern to surprise to amusement. As he ended his tale, she was doing her level best to refrain from howling with laughter.

"I assure you, at the time, it was not a laughing matter," he told her with a solemn look on his face

"I'm sorry. It's just the image of this horribly overbuilt demon robot trying to romance Ms. Rosenberg is just…" Her willpower finally failed and she started laughing. After a few seconds, he gave up and laughed himself. A few minutes later, with some measure of self-restraint the pair again started looking through the mass of musty, old books.

"Do you think that symbol Ms. Summers saw is in here somewhere?" Renee asked.

Xander replied, "I hope it is Renee", mentally adding he wasn't looking for that icon.

"Hey, Gooma. Quit hiding and come here."

A small man with a slight build and a scowl on his face stepped out of the darkness. He scratched at his shoddy outfit, an ill-fitting trench coat and baggy pants. The scowl on his face deepened as he approached the speaker, a larger, heavyset man. The fat man smiled, revealing a mouth filled large, impossibly white teeth and laughed at the smaller one.

"Are you scared, Gooma? You should be. You're in a lot of trouble."

"Why should he be scared?" another voice interrupted, belonging to a man taller then Gooma, but equally as slight. "He was gonna to fail, anyways. That's all he's ever done, is fail."

His scathing remarks brought a growl from Gooma even as another figure stepped forward. He was as thin as the others with a long, pronounced nose and dark sunglasses, "Gooma has always been a disappointment, Baduu. A real leader would have disposed of him by now."

The fat man growled at the others, "You shut your mouth, Badjisu. I'm not Garima, and I don't have to take your shit."

"Try me, Zain. You and the other Zu, like Gooma, are pieces of trash."

At those words, Gooma lunged for the other man. Before he had moved a foot, a whip-like tendril shot out of the darkness and encircled his throat. Gooma struggled as he felt his blood being shed by the spikes along the vine. The other men quickly became silent as they watched him struggle in vain. After a few minutes, the vine ripped him off his feet and slammed him face first into the ground, back a few yards from the group. They stood in silence as they watched him twitch feebly, as the vine retreated back into the darkness. The sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention and they focused as the owner emerged.

She was a scarlet haired woman dressed in a finely-made dress of the deepest black. As the woman walked, rose petals trailed in her wake and their scent lay heavy in the air. She commanded the attention of the group even as Gooma struggled to his feet. With a snap of her fingers, he moved and was at her shoulder, down on his knees.

"Never forget, Gooma, your fate is in my hands. You tried to play out of turn, violated Gumun's gegeru and should be dead."

"And why isn't he, Baruba?" Badjisu inquired. "I thought the penalty for breaking the rules was death."

"That is none of your concern, Badjisu. Question my authority again, and you will suffer a harsher fate."

The other man stiffened as he nodded. She regarded the rest with an indifferent glare. "Now then, who is next to play?"

"I am", a young woman with dusky skin, dressed in black strode forward. Her braided hair framing her excited face. "It's my turn to play."

"Very well," Baruba held her right hand aloft, a ring visible along her middle finger, "step here Mebia."

"So, Amy is dating Warren? That's just…" Buffy's voice trailed off, "I mean how they would… EWWW!"

"Says Buffy the vampire lover," Willow teased. Buffy frowned, "And here I thought you were my friend."

"I'm sorry, I guess maybe love is truly blind in Amy's case. As well as skinless and hairless," Willow finished. "I underestimated her as a witch. She's definitely progressed a lot further than the last time I saw her." The redhead turned and focused on her best friend. "Are you all right Buffy?"

"I don't like where this is going," Buffy said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Amy, Warren, that General. Where's it going to end?"

Willow didn't answer, leaving the two to sit in silence.

Xander frowned as he read his email, idling wondering how spammers got his email address this time.

"Hey, are you sure this is a good idea?" Renee asked him.

Without looking up, he responded, "Well, we don't have a car, per se and I don't have a valid driver's license, so that just left us with the bus."

"No, I mean heading back into the city to speak with the professor again."

Renee leaned back against the seat beside. The bus's interior was fairly clean, if sparse aside from the seats. The bus driver's love of jazz music filled the otherwise empty vehicle with its soothing sound. Finished with his email, Xander closed his PDA and looked over at her as he said, "Look, we never did get an answer from him about those symbols. "

The radio shrieked as it cut to a local news broadcast.

"And, we repeat, there is a very real, public safety danger here on the lower west side. Police are advising anyone who has business in this area to stay away. Residents are to barricade themselves in their homes."

As soon as he heard that, Xander was on his feet, headed towards the front of the bus with Renee following behind him. The radio broadcast continued, "Authorities are not saying what the nature of the emergency is, and are not allowing anyone from the media to get closer than a three block perimeter of the neighborhood."

"Excuse me," Xander said, making the driver look over at him, "Can you drop us off there?"

"Are you daft, mate? The police said no one in or out of the area."

"I am aware of that, but I have family there and I want to check on them." Renee came up beside him and said, "Please it's very important," as she put on her best pout.

The driver shook his head. "All right, I'll drop you off at a stop near there, but from you're on your own. Don't be surprised if the Bobbies run you from the place."

"Thank you, sir." Xander gave his best relieved smile.

They reached the bus stop and disembarked in short with the driver muttering under his breath about "crazy yanks" and left.

"Okay, so what was so important that you opted for this dangerous detour?" Renee asked.

"I got a bad feeling about this. Normally, cops don't tell people to barricade themselves anywhere," Xander replied as he looked around the deserted streets. They walked quickly through the streets moving towards what Xander roughly judged was the center of the area the news had reported as being cordoned off. Rounding the corner, they found a police cruiser up on the sidewalk, with no policemen in sight. Renee slowly approached the cruiser, stopping as she was able to see into it. The headless body of a policeman lay inside the vehicle.

"This is very definitely bad," she said.

Xander approached the rear and saw another body lying on the ground, the man's throat and upper chest torn open.

"Come on," he said as he started moving quicker towards the area's center, a large warehouse. As they approached, they found more abandoned or disabled cars. Like the policemen, bodies lay piled beside the vehicles. He pulled his cell phone out and hit the speed dial.

"Buffy? Renee and I are back in town. Yes, I know there is a situation going on here, that's why I'm calling. There are a lot of dead and mangled cops here. It looks like something big is going down. You better bring a strike team. We'll find a place and hold up." He hung up as Renee kept an anxious lookout. "Backup is on the way, but we need to get off the streets, though."

Renee caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a young woman about her age dressed in black walking towards them. Xander noted the odd look in her eyes and called out to her, "Hey, Miss, you all right?"

As an answer, the woman smiled and then her body just changed. One second, she could have passed for Renee's sister, the next there was a human sized creature with large claws and what looked like hair stretching down its back. The beast hissed at them audibly, stretching its hands and showing off bloodstained talons.

"Oh, that's not good," Xander noted as he backed away from the monster girl, even as Renee moved by his side. "Come on, we've got to get off the streets. Last thing we need, is to be seen in public right now."

He sprinted towards the warehouse. Renee was right behind him, doing her best to keep on an eye on the creature as it pivoted and moved to follow them. Xander reached the side door, which, fortunately, was unlocked. Quickly, he went inside and headed for the stairs. Renee caught up to him on the stairs midway between the second and third floors. Here, he paused and listened intently for any sounds that the creature was pursuing them. The air inside the building was still and seemed to mute every sound, even his breath. Renee and he exchanged glances.

"Think we lost her?" Xander whispered.

"I don't know," she replied, her eyes peering into the darkness even as her ears strained for the slightest sound. "I can't hear anything or see her anywhere." Then she did hear something, a dripping sound like that of water following.

"Oh boy."

Renee turned and saw Xander staring at something. She tracked his gaze to a body hanging near them that had not been there five minutes ago. The man's belly had been sliced open ever so slightly and his blood and other fluids were starting to drip down.

"I think we need to keep heading up."

Xander didn't wait for her response and started heading upstairs. Renee swallowed and followed him, bypassing the next two floors until they reached the top floor. Xander began moving away from the landing and towards the rear of the building past the ordered rows of crates to be near the wall. At regular intervals, boarded up windows lined the outer wall, admitting small lines of light into the darkness.

"Okay, we have two walls and a ceiling. Now we at least have some idea of where she can't come from," Xander said as he removed his revolver and eased off the safety. Renee nodded as she withdrew an impressive looking dagger from inside her jacket. Then they waited, Renee's eyes constantly moved, never lingering as she sought any movement in the shadows around them.

Xander clenched his pistol as he also scanned the darkness as best he could. Lacking a slayer's keen eyesight, and eyes to go with it, he restricted himself to what was visible in the few lighted areas near them. Beside him, Renee whipped her head around and peered into the darkness. He followed her gaze and saw nothing. But as the seconds went by, he began hearing a faint scratching sound approaching them. Xander forced himself to remain patient as the silhouette of the creature appeared in the darkness. Right before it reached the edge of the light, the thing paused and darted over the side into the dark again.

"Crap," he muttered, straining to see where it had gone. Xander directed his focus to the crates stacked nearby, reasoning that the creature's ambush would come from there. Fortunately for him, Renee wasn't so certain and a flicker of movement in the darkness caught her attention.

"Xander! LOOK OUT!" She cried as she knocked him to the ground, narrowly avoiding the creature's pounce from the darkness.

Xander rolled on his side as slayer and monster began battling, eventually hitting the wall. He pushed himself to his knees, watching as Renee struggled with the beast. Still holding his pistol, he waited, hoping for an opening.

Unfortunately, the usual method of dealing with demons via punch to face left no room for him to use it. He holstered his weapon, standing even as Renee flattened the monster with an impressive punch. She readied her dagger and plunged it into the creature's stomach, only to remove it with no trace of a wound. The cat-like beast took the opportunity to slash at her, forcing Renee to tumble backwards and end up beside him. Xander took stock of the situation and arrived at a regretful conclusion.

"Hey, Renee, can you keep a secret?" he asked. She turned to answer him and saw that his outstretched hands were facing palms down around his waist. In the blink of an eye, a belt shimmered into existence around him. Her gaze moved to his face which was focused on the demon. Curling his fists up, Xander spoke the same word as he had before, "Henshin", opened his hands and let his arms fall to his side.

Renee didn't quite understand what was going on, but then the transformation began.

First, his legs and feet changed, from pants to a black almost-leathery substance with gold anklets. Then, his arms changed, matching the new appearance of the legs. Next, his torso flickered, before being replaced with gleaming red armor that matched the bits of crimson on his arms. Lastly, his head changed: face, hair and all were replaced by a helmet with a pair of large red eyes, topped with a set of golden horns where his eyebrows would have been. The eyes flared to light briefly as a final touch, even as he turned to regard her.

"Mr. Harris…" was all she could say.

"Yeah, it's a bit different, but don't worry, "Xander's voice came through the helmet's mouthpiece, "I'm still here. Now let's deal with this thing before anyone else dies."

Nodding, Renee took up her stance even as the creature finally attacked. Renee dodged the slash of its claws, while Xander simply blocked the strike with the armored gauntlet on his arm and punched the creature in the face. The slayer used the opportunity offered to strike, landing several bone-breaking kicks on the beast and stabbing it in the face. This time, her aim was true and the point of the blade pierced the creature's eye, drawing a howl of pain from it. Surprised, Renee slowed slightly, this was enough for demon to catch with her claws across her midsection, slashing open the girl's stomach.

"Renee!" Xander felt his anger rise and vented it by pummeling the beast repeatedly, staggering it. Renee fell backwards, her arms clutched protectively around the wound. Xander abandoned his assault on the creature to check on her.

"Crap you need a doctor."

Renee simply nodded, fighting back against the pain. The monster used the opportunity to yank Renee's dagger out of its eye and toss it to the ground. Black liquid poured from the eye socket, covering half of its face. The monster's pain-fueled roar drew Xander's attention as it located them with its remaining eye.

It ran up the side of the wall, intent on bouncing off the crates to strike at them. However, Xander proved to be just as quick and intercepted the monster. Bracing himself on a stack of crates, he extended his leg out and caught the beast in the midsection with enough force to disturb the air and dust around them. As his foot struck home, Xander felt an odd sensation travel along the length of his leg and into the beast. Bending his knee up to his chest, he could sense the creature's movements were rapidly becoming sluggish and he used both legs to kick the monster away from him and through one of the boarded windows.

That's when he saw it again - a small emblem appearing where his foot had struck the beast. Radiating outward from it were lines of yellow energy that ripped and tore at the monster's skin. Head rolling in agony, the beast could only scream as it plunged through the window, and then exploded into a mid-air fireball.

Xander blinked at the sight, and then moved to kneel beside Renee. That's when he heard the telltale sound of footsteps approaching. Those footsteps belonged to a dozen or more slayers emerging from the darkness, some with crossbows pointed at him. Buffy and Satsu moved to stand in front of them, the latter holding a katana, while the former held the Scythe.

Buffy regarded the strange sight in front of her with worry. Renee was one of her best and for her to be wounded as badly as she was… The mysterious figure's presence was another concern, with no mouth visible, she wasn't sure if it could talk or even be inclined to do so. Still, Renee's life mattered more.

"I don't know who you are, but I hope the explanation is forthcoming."

Renee's eyes widened slightly. "Ms. Summers, it's not what you think," She protested. Her voice trailed off as Xander touched her lightly on the arm, a movement that drew sharp breaths in response.

"It's okay Renee," he continued, standing to face Buffy, "I think any hope of keeping a secret is long gone."

As he spoke, there was a minor flash of light and the armored figure dissolved back into Xander Harris. He blinked away the sudden change in lighting, taking in Satsu's uncertainty and Buffy's surprise.

"I always hate this part."


	3. Episode Three 'Vertigo'

Into the Blue Sky

By Adrian Tepes

Rating: PG-13 to R.

Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, during the events of _"The Chain"_.

Episode Three: **Vertigo**.

Xander spared a glance behind him and saw no more room to run. His assailant had chased him into a corner. He saw no opportunity to dodge the attack and braced himself. Despite his best efforts, both feet got through his guard and knocked him backwards, completely off the mat and onto the much less forgiving floor. Xander scrambled to his knees, and promptly begged for mercy of his attacker.

"Please, no more, spare me!" The attacker stopped in her tracks and gave him an odd look.

"It's just sparring, Xander," Buffy observed, "not a life or death struggle."

Thankful, Xander managed to stand-up rubbing his sore forearms. "No, those are every other night. I mean, OWW. What was with the diving roll at the end? That really hurt."

"Giles thought it was a good way to add a little more oomph to the kick at the end. Besides, you can always switch to 'I'm keeping a super-secret-from my friends mode' and be done with it." The slayer added with an angry pout.

Xander's expression fell and he let his arms hang at his sides, "I'm sorry, all right? I didn't know want to throw away the mystique of the 'grown-up, mature Xander' by revealing I'd done something extraordinarily stupid like put some strange and mystically powerful belt on. And this is the first time it actually fit."

He moved past her to stand in the middle of the mat. "I knew Leah and Rowena weren't having any effect on that thing. And the last thing I wanted to happen was for it to find what it was looking for."

The blonde mounted a balance beam and walked its length across the room. She took a deep breath while facing away from him and started back flipping along the beam towards him. When Buffy reached the middle of the beam, she paused.

Xander watched, still amazed at the agility and balance of a slayer. "Guess only the circus people need a pole."

Buffy hopped off the beam, walked past him to grab her towel off a nearby rack and started wiping her forehead. "It can help if you're having trouble balancing." She paused, "I'm gonna call Willow in a bit and see if she can find a way to remove that belt."

Surprised, Xander quickly moved to stand beside her. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"And why not? We don't know anything about that belt and what it might be doing to you."

"But we do know something about the belt, Buffy; it lets me stop those creatures."

Buffy peeked over the towel at him, "You think there are more of them?"

****

The man known as 'Baduu' regarded his surroundings. The streets held enough foot traffic to keep the area active, yet not enough to insure a heavy police presence. Those Rinto he viewed as delaying his Gegeru. The old factory's smoke irritated him, but that was a small factor. Baduu examined the iron bracelet on his wrist. In silence, he stroked the metal markers on it, listening to the sound of each rubbing against each other.

Below him, a young woman walked past with her cell phone plastered tightly against her ear. She took no notice of his presence as she chatted away.

Baduu smiled for the first time that afternoon.

****

Xander found himself on a bus into town yet again, intent on speaking with the professor. As before, a Slayer accompanied him, Buffy replacing the still injured Renee. She sat beside him on the seat, very quiet since an earlier outburst had prompted stares from the other passengers. He leaned closer to her and spoke in a whisper, "You did promise to rip-off my belt in front of them, Buffy."

"Not like the way they're thinking," she shot back, a faint flush on her cheeks, "and only if the professor said it was dangerous." The blonde slayer mock-glared at him, "And if you tell anyone about that again, I will make certain you have to share a room with Andrew again."

Xander flinched, "Noted", and sat back.

The rest of their ride was accomplished in silence as they reached their stop. The police were still investigating the earlier attacks and had limited foot traffic in the area, so they were forced to detour through another neighborhood. Neither paid a great deal of attention to their surroundings as they strolled toward their destination. As they drew closer to the museum, first Xander, then Buffy sensed their environment change. Outside of the crosswalk beeps, they heard nothing. The people they had seen were back on the bus. Buffy automatically balled her hands into fists in her pockets before willing them to relax as she let them hang by her side.

Coming around a corner, they saw their first body. They shared a glance and hurried towards the corpse. Judging by what remained of her, this girl looked to be Buffy's age and would grow no older. Her body had struck the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete and asphalt. The girl's face was destroyed, as were her arms, snapped at odd angles with the bones poking through. The pair felt the bile rise in their throats before being forced back down.

"Looks like she tried to break the fall with her hands…" Xander managed. Buffy briefly closed her eyes, swallowed and stepped closer to the body. She saw where the woman's cell phone had broken on impact, its pieces scattered around her corpse.

"Buffy," Xander's voice drew her attention. "Look over there." She looked in the direction he indicated and flinched. There was a body of an elderly man impaled on an iron fence. His face twisted in terror as the metal spikes had punctured through both front and back. Lifeless arms and legs dangled a shoe off one and his fallen cane beneath another. Buffy felt her nausea return and Xander had visibly paled.

A man's screaming drew their attention and each took off in that direction. Before they could reach the source, a crash of metal and glass cut it off. That only quickened their pace. Rounding the corner, they came upon the latest victim. The body of a man in business suit lay embedded in the hood of a car. His head was smashed into the windshield, splattering blood across it. Fluids leaked from under the car, whether the victim's or the vehicle's, Buffy didn't know.

Xander swallowed and forced himself to look around, searching for a place where the man could have come from. Most of the buildings in this area were relatively short, no more two or three stories tall. Buffy watched him as he moved closer to the body, while trying looking upwards at the skylines. Movement caught her eye and she called out to him, "Xander, WATCH OUT!"

He reacted on pure reflex, ducking and rolling out of the way. Scrambling to his feet, he and Buffy stared at the attacker. The man sized creature lacked overly large claws compared to the prior beasts. It did, however, have a pair of muscular legs and a compact yet powerful looking torso. Large black eyes compressed to mere slits stared back at them. A glance at its waist revealed a familiar looking design in the middle. Buffy didn't waste anymore time and charged. She attempted to trick it by first feigning a punch, then kicking it instead. The creature didn't fall for it and avoided her attack. Adjusting on the fly, she attacked its head, forcing the creature to dodge, and then attempted to kick its feet out from under it. This time the creature jumped, its powerful legs easily launching it over ten feet away from the slayer.

For his part, Xander held his hands around his waist as he summoned the belt again. Feeling it coalesce around him, he didn't take his eye off Jumper as he spoke, "Henshin." Buffy watched with fascination as, bit by bit, his body blinked and transformed itself into the red and black suited being she had seen before.

His change completed, Xander moved to engage the creature himself with Buffy coming up behind it. Xander's attacks proved easier to dodge then the Slayer's. This also allowed the creature to kick him in the midsection, knocking him down and backward. That was all the opening Buffy needed to finally land her own kick on the creature's back, instantly knocking it away.

She helped Xander to his feet and the two of them faced the monster which clutched at its back. It quickly fled and they gave chase. Despite Buffy's speed, she couldn't quite catch the creature even as Xander fell behind them. For his part, a minute into the chase, Xander was already starting to gasp, 'strong or not, this suit is heavy, and I need to be lighter to catch them'. He put the thought out of his mind and redoubled his efforts. Unnoticed, the belt started humming as Xander put all of his willpower into trying to move faster. Buffy had managed to close the gap somewhat, but the creature reacted by leaping up into a parking garage, instantly reaching the second level. Buffy grimaced and raced towards the stairs.

The belt flashed, and instantly Xander felt himself moving much easier and faster. 'Guess my second wind kicked in' he thought. Ahead of him, he saw Buffy starting to run up the stairs and he increased his own speed. Within seconds, he had closed the gap between them and caught up with her. She turned and froze as he moved past her, headed up.

"Xander?" She called to him.

He paused and looked down at her. "What?"

"You're BLUE."

"What?"

He turned, looking around frantically before catching sight of his reflection. The heavy red armor that had dominated his torso and arms had been replaced with a much smaller and much lighter blue armor. Xander looked closer at himself; either the armor was blue and lighter, or it was simply gone. Even his eyes had changed from the intense red to a peaceful blue.

"What is going on?" he said aloud. Above them, they heard the creature moving again. Xander snapped out of his reverie and resumed running up the stairs with Buffy behind him. In his new appearance, Xander caught up with the creature on the garage's top level and launched himself at it, tackling the creature. Quickly, both were on their feet and Xander threw a haymaker that caught the monster right in the jaw.

And the punch did absolutely nothing to it.

"What the hell?" Xander wondered and, thanks to his momentary inattention, was promptly decked. He tried to roll with the punch and ended up on the ground. Somehow, he got back up in time to confront the beast again. This time he feinted with his right and lashed out with surprising speed using his left. His blows hit home, but the monster barely noticed as it advanced and attacked him.

The creature had wrapped its arms around his throat and was trying to throttle him when Buffy arrived with a timely right hook that snapped its head back. Xander gripped and ripped something from around its arm as he fell to the ground. Above him, the creature hissed and growled as it and Buffy circled each other. Numerous sirens blared through the air, interrupting the duel and the creature leaped away from them. In two jumps, it was out of sight. Buffy frowned as Xander stood up; there was a subdued flash of light, and he was once again just normal Xander.

"I think we better get out of here," he said, holding his head.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied and glanced down at what he was holding. "Let's go see the doc and see what he says."

****

"Authorities remain tight lipped on the suicide epidemic that is sweeping the area. With no details forthcoming, many residents are taking to blaming the old Hallows factory. Many believe the factory's smoke contains vapors that trigger halleuncigenic episodes in people."

Buffy hit the mute button on the remote as she looked at Xander and the professor. Doctor Williams was intently examining the object Xander had managed to take from the creature. "Any ideas on why it has such bad taste in jewelry?" she asked.

Xander moved away from the duo as he read the online accounts of the attacks, comparing the locations mentioned with a map. The morning's newspaper was also sprawled on the desk in front of him. Professor Williams turned the object over in his hands, as he replied, "Well I'm not exactly sure. I'll need more time to examine it."

Buffy sighed as she turned her attention back to the television report. "So we went from PCP to blaming an old factory."

"But all the victims have been found in this area," Xander noted as he tapped the map, "which is near the factory." He frowned, as he felt he was missing something. The news switched to a weather forecast for that night, which predicted more rain. Xander blinked as he watched it, then he grabbed the newspaper and flipped the page.

Buffy and Professor Williams spared a glance at each other then focused on him.

"Find something?" the doctor asked.

"This morning, the wind was blowing out of the Northwest, which is where all the attacks occurred and where we found Mr. Jumpy. According to that weather report, the wind is shifting and starting to blow more from the Southeast." He finished as he looked up at them. Buffy looked at him as she worked out what he was saying. "Which means the smoke from the factory will be in that area by tonight"

"And the area previously affected by the smoke will be uncovered," Williams finished.

Xander looked at both of them, "We need to get to that neighborhood and find ugly fast."

The professor reached in his pocket and tossed a set of keys to him, "take mine, it'll be faster."

The street vendor peered around the corner, fear in his eyes as he frantically looked around. He had heard the dying screams of those around him and had fled. He had trusted his knowledge of the alleys and back areas to help him lose the monster that was stalking him. His relief was short-lived, though, as he felt a powerful grip clamp down on his shoulders. He twisted around and came face-to-face with the creature that had killed the others before his very eyes. The thing hissed, as it drug him away from his hiding spot and prepared to add him to its victims.

That is, until a heat seeking blonde missile crushed its face and knocked him away. Looking up, the vendor looked up into the face of a man with one eye that knelt to check on him and advised, "Get out of here. Run and don't look back." The vendor nodded and started sprinting away from the scene as fast as he could move.

Xander watched the other man leave before turning his attention back to where Buffy was pounding on the monster. He summoned the belt into existence around his waist and spoke again, "Henshin". The belt hummed, bit by bit changing him again. Feeling the process complete, he rushed into the fight. Buffy saw him coming and commented, "Xander you're still blue."

"Crap." Xander couldn't break his charge off and was promptly tossed to the side by the monster. To his credit, he recovered quickly and the beast took the opportunity to flee the area with both of them in pursuit. Buffy and Xander followed it inside another abandoned building and headed for the roof. They reached the top, hot on the heels of the monster and burst out of the door. Xander looked around the roof and saw no one.

"Where did it go?"

He heard the groan of metal and concrete breaking as a ramshackle tower started falling towards him. Xander rolled to the side as it crashed beside him and he saw the creature growl at him. A glance to his side told him the wrecked mass of metal had formed a bridge between this building and the next. Xander feigned an injury to draw the monster in closer, before launching himself at it. It knocked him aside rather easily, turning its back on the slayer. That mistake proved costly, as Buffy drove both feet into its side and sent it tumbling towards the wrecked tower.

Xander got to his feet and watched as the beast and Buffy dueled atop the junk bridge. He moved closer, climbing on to the bridge himself to help. The metal groaned under their combined weight, which drew his attention and made him wish he hadn't looked down at the street.

"Oh shit", he exclaimed as he lost his balance and started falling off the bridge, his hand latching onto metal joint at the last minute.

"XANDER!" Buffy lost her focus and allowed the creature to strike her several times. It finished its flurry with a kick that knocked her backwards across the bridge onto the other roof, scattering debris as she hit.

Meanwhile, Xander somehow managed to grab the truss with his other hand and pulled himself up onto the bridge. He got to his feet, fully aware of how unsteady he was trying to keep his balance as the creature approached him. Buffy recovered first though, snatched one of the rusted metal pipes near her and tossed to him, screaming, "Xander, BALANCE!"

Somehow, he managed to catch the pipe without falling and that's when the weird thing happened. As he held the pipe in his hands, it changed. The rusted metal was replaced with shiny, black material that had golden knobs along either end. Xander felt a sense of familiarity as he gripped the shaft of the weapon, and saw the knobs extend, lengthening it further. He looked up in time to see the creature had moved closer. He reacted purely on reflex when it lunged at him, the resulting strike from the staff he now held eliciting a howl of pain from the beast.

"That wasn't a happy noise," Xander taunted as the creature attempted to shake off the pain. It paused and hopped forward, only to be met again with the hard end of the staff striking it in the midsection, halting its progress. He took a small step back as he reassessed the situation, while Buffy from her vantage point on the opposite roof was doing the same thing.

'When he was red, he was really strong, but the blue form lacks that strength,' she thought.

'But when I'm blue, my speed has increased enough for me to keep up with this guy,' Xander paused in his thinking, 'unarmed, I can keep up with him but not hurt him'.

'Where as now, the staff makes up for it,' Buffy concluded. The two friends shared a look before he began advancing on the beast. His reflexes and the staff's reach meant that the creature was struck several times as it tried to attack or evade him. Buffy, however, heard something else amongst the sounds of combat, the sound of metal groaning.

"Xander, the metal can't handle the stress!" she yelled to him. Xander backed up a few steps as he pondered the situation. Beneath him, he could feel and sense the rusty metal starting to separate and snap apart. He surrendered himself to the instincts screaming inside his head and charged.

Just before he got in the creature's range, he leapt, corkscrewing himself in the air. As he passed over the monster, he lashed out with the staff, driving the end of it into a spot between the creature's neck and shoulder and pushed himself further away from it and toward Buffy. It felt like an eternity between when he jumped and when he landed beside her. Xander twirled the staff in his hands as he turned around and faced the beast, prepared to fight again if needed.

Buffy and he watched the beast turn to face to them, but grabbing at its right shoulder where Xander's blow had struck. Underneath its clawed hands, they could see a familiar looking mark burning on its skin. Lines of energy erupted from it and tore across the creature's flesh, causing it to roar in pain. The lines quickly converged and ripped open the symbol in the middle of its waist. The thing had enough time to scream one more time as it exploded, sending pieces of its body everywhere to dissolve into a green mist.

Xander willed himself to de-transform and looked over at Buffy as the remains of the bridge fell apart and collapsed into the street below.

She shook her head, "Those things don't go quietly, do they?" Her gaze shifted back to him and she saw the rod was replaced with the metal rusted through pipe it had been before.

He dropped it to the ground, "Drama Queens".


	4. Episode Four 'Blurry'

Into the Blue Sky

By Adrian Tepes

Rating: PG-13 to R.

Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, during the events of _"No Future For You Parts 1-2"_.

Episode Three: **Blurry**. 

"Just occasionally, I wish I could take sleeping pills like a normal person," Xander mused in his room. After defeating the jumping monster and calling the professor to tell him the whereabouts of his car, they had returned to the castle. Reflecting on the day's events had left him slightly unsettled. 

Preoccupied, he logged into his PC and mechanically began checking everything. 'So the belt not changes me into that strange suit of armor, it also lets me change from red to blue armor. And those two suits have different capabilities. The blue form is pretty weak physically, but really fast and agile. Plus, it creates a weapon to be used,' he mused to himself.

Xander paused as he subconsciously registered an email from Renee blinking in his inbox.

Curious, he clicked on it and read the message in silence, 'Sparring partners, huh?' Xander looked down at himself. 'Well, I'm in pretty good shape, I guess. Still wouldn't hurt to get in some more practice before tomorrow'. Finished, he logged off and went to get his workout clothes. The nice thing about living in a big, honking castle was all the space it gave them. The downside he considered as he gathered everything up was the all the space he had to walk to and from. A glance at the clock revealed it to be just past ten at night and if he strained he could hear the faint sounds of a TV playing somewhere.

"Yours for only three payments of 19.95"

* * *

A boy about ten years old wandered down a hall. Clutched tightly in his grasp was a well-worn teddy bear dressed with as a pilot, with a scarf around the neck and a set of aviator's goggles on its head. The boy's footsteps were silent as he padded closer to a door where he could hear a pair of adults in a heated debate. 

"Listen, woman, I will not send in those bloody papers."

"Oh you won't, will you? And what about in a few weeks when we're no better off then the Morgans, scratching and clawing, trying to put a bit of food on the table, let alone make rent."

"I will not let that happen, every man in my family has provided for theirs without being on the dole. I will not be the first to break that tradition."

At that point, the door leaned open and the little boy looked into the room at his parents who looked back at him. "What's wrong Andy?" his mother asked.

"I can't sleep," was the boy's answer. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Shooting her husband a look, the woman moved over to him and placed a hand on his forehead. Finding it slightly warm, she sighed as she picked him up, turning to face his father as she did so. A morose and downtrodden look covered his face as he approached them. His hand reached out and brushed his son's hair, "Hey there, champ, you gotta get some sleep, otherwise you won't be able to show all your mates whose king tomorrow".

The boy yawned and relaxed, his head drooping and laying on his mother's shoulders. "Are you and Mum going to split up like Tom's parents did?" Thankfully, the boy was so tired he couldn't see the face of either of his parents, "Don't worry about what we're doing, you just need some rest. Right, David?"

David nodded in agreement with his wife, "Yes, just yes, champ. Your mother and I will work this out." Andy started nodding off as his mother carried him off to bed. David watched them leave the room and looked down at the slip of paper in his hands.

His voice was barely a whisper, "Don't worry lad, Nicole. Dad's going to make this work."

Some distance away from the house of David and Nicole, an old homeless man struggled his way into one of the many parks in the area. Muttering to himself about shelters and rules against alcohol, he sat on a wooden bench. Around him, he could see and hear the numerous insects that populated the area at night. His mind already clouded by the booze in his hand, he barely felt a tiny pinprick along his back. It would be daylight before anyone found the body.

* * *

Xander wiped his forehead, as he had worked up a quite a sweat punching the heavy bag. After a good twenty minutes, he had removed his sweatshirt. Ten minutes later, his undershirt had followed and he stood before the bag, shirtless in workout pants and extremely confident.

"Fear my awesome power! For lo, like Kurt Russell before me, I am a formidable eye patch-clad opponent. And lest you think I refer to Captain Ron, Let me assure you that the one-eyed character of which I speak is none other than the mighty Snake Plissken, who taught me the very ass-handing I'm about to deliver unto you."

"Careful, Xander, you're going to taunt that poor bag right off its chain," came a fairly smooth and definitely female voice.

"BUFFY!" He yelped and quickly hid behind the bag. Shaken, he continued, "Sorry, heh, thought I had the ol' danger room booked for the whole late-night slot. So I could be alone with my, you know…sweaty, shirtless self," the last few words barely audible.

She walked past him, headed towards a seat beside the window, "What inspired the sudden training montage Belt Man?"

"Oh, Renee asked if we could be sparring partners tomorrow, so I figured I should re-acquaint my body with non-Dance-Dance-Revolution-related movement first," Xander answered while still behind the bag.

"Sparring Partners?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

He emerged from behind the bag, pointing at her with the index finger on his right hand, "Don't arch your eyebrow at me, young lady. Renee and I are just pals. Our workout sessions will be as non-physical pugilistic-related activities can possibly…" his defense lost steam as Buffy had turned towards the window, her hand drawing the symbol from the church on one of the many fogged panes.

"Buffy? You okay?" Xander asked as he gathered up his Sunnydale Swim team shirt.

She rested her head in her right hand as she answered, "Sorry, I'm in full-on fret mode about the whole 'Twilight' gimmick. We still don't know what this thing has to do with Uncle Sam declaring shock and awe on us, right? You heard anything more from our friend in the library?" Her eyes never left what she had created as she finished.

Xander pulled his shirt on, "That's a negatory. Giles has been incommunicado for a few weeks now. But I'm sure he's got too many new books that need shelving to worry about a classic that's already been checked out, you know?"

He moved to stand in front of her, "Um, not that anyone is checking you out of course. Not anyone here, I mean. In this gym. Right now. Also has anyone seen where I left my bad analogy?"

"Made more sense than I just bolted out of," she spoke with a wearied tone. "Trouble in slumberland?"

"I've been having repeats of the same bad episode every night this week. There's this…thing chasing me, and no matter how hard I run, it always ends up scoring the pounce. But right before it swallows me whole, the big smelly looks me right in the eyes and says 'The queen is dead, long live the queen'.

* * *

A twenty-something woman slammed her car door shut. With a press of the button on her keys, the trunk of her car opened. She quickly retrieved her two bags of groceries and closed it. Thankfully, none of the fresh produce had bruised and her dinner wouldn't be the leftover Thai food tonight.

She never felt the slight sting pierce her skin, managing to get halfway up the stairs to her flat before succumbing, the bags slipping from her lifeless arms, spilling their contents down the steps.

* * *

Xander sighed as the bus pulled off. His date/not-date with Renee had been a bust. Not that they hadn't had fun or enjoyed each other's company. He dropped his gaze to the ground, it was just that…

"Renee is trying to skip out on her assigned duties," Satsu paused as she glared at the younger girl. "Kitchen Patrol."

Renee gave a weak laugh as she was dragged away by the other slayer, promising to make it up soon, and left Xander with a lot of free time on his hands. So he decided to head into town, hoping for a quiet day of sight-seeing. His plan lasted until he saw the morning paper proclaiming another killing spree on the loose.

Xander read and re-read the stories, gleaning all the details he could. 'A homeless man in a park had been the first body found, followed by a woman feet from her second story apartment. Several bodies were found along a well used jogging path.' He paused as he read further, 'no apparent connection'. Xander hoped the good doctor was up and awake at this hour.

"Ah, Good morning, Xander," Dr. Williams greeted him.

"Hello Doc, sounds like you've been awake for awhile," Xander answered as he started walking, subconsciously heading towards the area where the joggers had been found.

"Well, as I get older, I find my mornings start earlier, so I take it you're calling about that object you procured?"

He looked around the empty street before answering, "Not exactly. I was calling about the latest, umm, newspaper headlines, the bad kind."

There was a brief silence on the other end as he could hear the doctor fumbling with his own copy of the paper, "Good lord, not another one" Williams hesitated before asking the obvious, "You don't think there's another of those things out there doing this do you?"

"What can I say, Doc? I'm not a big believer in coincidences." Xander replied.

"Ah well, I do have an old classmate that works for the police. I'll check in with him and try to get back with you as soon as I learn something."

"Thanks, doc," Xander said as he hung up and started examining the area.

Wide sections of the park appeared to be cordoned off. Bright yellow bands of police tape informed the public to stay out and away. Xander stopped well away from them and began looking around. His practiced eye looked through the foliage and surroundings.

'The bushes look intact, the grass is well maintained', he examined the area around his feet, 'but likely wouldn't hold footsteps'. He started walking away from the site of the joggers towards where the woman had been found earlier, her apartment came into view fairly quickly, car still parked in front.

Xander eyed the area and did a rough survey, 'Judging by the angle, the shooter would have had to been near the middle of the park…' He quickly started walking that way. As he closed in on the area, he noticed a large picnic style area had been set up. Judging by the well trimmed path, this area was designed to be used by any of the neighboring families who might want an impromptu outdoor party. As the former carpenter walked through the area, he couldn't help the feeling he was being watched. Slowly, he walked to a group of trees on one side of the grove and quickly cut behind one of them. Xander silently counted to ten before easing his head around the trunk and saw…nothing. He released a breath he hadn't known he was holding and almost relaxed. That is until he happened to glance upwards and saw a fearsome creature staring down at him.

The thing dropped from the branches as he backed away from it. Large, compound eyes dominated a ball-shaped head. Its body was thin and compact yet muscular, as were its legs. The appearance of yet another highly intricate symbol apparently carved to appear on its waist confirmed his earlier suspicion. He summoned the belt even as the creature advanced toward him. "Henshin," was all he said before he charged the bug-like demon.

Apparently, whatever else the creature was, it wasn't a good fighter as he pummeled it easily. The demon's face and head were rocked by his powerful strikes until he knocked it backwards and away from him. Xander cracked his knuckles as he moved toward it, intent on finishing the fight. That's when something he missed became a factor in the fight. From the creature's back, a pair of thin, yet sturdy wings deployed. The creature flexed its wings for a second than started beating as they lifted it off the ground and it started moving away from him at an increasing rate of speed.

Naturally, Xander gave chase but the creature's flight speed moved it far out of his reach in seconds. He paused, following the creature with his eye until it flew upward into the sky.

'Crap, I'm losing it.' His eye strained to locate the beast again but the effort was in vain.

'Great. Had a lead, lost the lead,' he kept staring into the sky, 'I need to find that thing before someone else dies. Come on, ugly, come back here and fight.'

Had Xander been paying attention he would have heard the belt humming again. But his focus was on the monster he had so recently lost sight of. "Son of a bitch, I almost had him and than the damn thing flies away" he said with an angry tone. His frustration all too evident as he spoke again, "Come on, how the hell do, I find the bastard." That's when the belt stopped humming and all of a sudden, Xander's world became a lot clearer. The colors grew sharper and more vivid, the songs of the birds and bugs reached from across the park.

"Huh?" He looked around and saw nothing at first. His curiosity led him to a pond, where he saw his reflection. The armor had changed again, this time to a brilliant green, while again reducing its overall mass and bulk. 'Okay, I'm green now, that's new,' he pondered, 'like last time. First I was red, than I was blue. Now I was red, but I'm green. And man are those crickets are loud'. He turned as he heard the chirps apparently getting louder, the dull roar of airplane thousands of feet above, sounded much closer. The booming, pulsing beat of a radio from a house blasted into his eardrums. Xander's hands gripped at his head as he staggered away. His vision got fuzzier and fuzzier, the screeching and cracking of everything in the park. It wasn't until he was nearer one of the roads that ran parallel to the park that he was overwhelmed by the blaring of the truck's horn.

Xander collapsed on the ground, and lost consciousness.

* * *

"This is about sex, isn't it?" Dawn paused as she towered over an apple tree, "because everyone keeps trying to give me the birds and bees speech, which I outgrew ten years and six hundred shoe sizes ago." The younger Summers sister's hands combed through the tree, gathering its ripe fruit into her palms as a familiar red-head hovered nearby.

"No one's trying to lecture you, Dawn, but none of my spells are going to shrink you like a cotton sweater until I know exactly what mojo your loverboy used." Willow watched as she gathered the fruit into one hand, "and speaking of clothes, have you been wearing the same outfit since you… blossomed?"

"What, did my proportionate stench tip you off?" Dawn swallowed the dozen or so apples she had found whole, "cause unless Lane Bryant redefines 'Plus-sized' in a hurry, it's only going to get worse."

Her hunger sated, the giant teenager sat down even as Willow floated nearby offered, "I swear I'll un-embiggen you the second you tell me what incantation your significant other used while you two were… being significant together."

"You're worse then my sister, Willow," Dawn supported her head in one giant hand as she continued, "Why is everyone so sure this is Kenny's fault?"

"Um, because he's a thricewise?" Willow smiled wryly, "I'm as sensitive to profiling as the next gay Wiccan Jewess, but not every stereotype is untrue." She stopped smiling as tears started to form in Dawn's eyes.

The giant brunette felt the tears starting flow again, "You don't understand, he was the only guy on the campus who treated me like a friend, not a… a walking pair of boobs."

"Oh sweetie, don't talk like that," Willow comforted her, "Boys are into you because of your legs not those itty-bitty things."

That drew a laugh and a giggle as Dawn's tears ended quickly with her wiping them away, "Heh, I missed you Will. But the truth is—"

"Miss Rosenberg?" a new voice, belonging to Renee drew their attention, "Sorry to interrupt, but Buffy was wondering if you could give her a hand with the castle's new defense system?"

Willow admonished the young slayer, "First of all, what did we discuss about calling me by my mother's name?"

"That I'd be turned into a baby goat if I didn't knock it off?" Renee offered.

"Very good, Renee,' Willow nodded approvingly. 'And please tell Ms. Summers, that I already double-checked our perimeter's enchanted moat this morning."

The dark skinned girl raised a hand, "Actually she said she was looking for, and I quote 'Laptop-Geek Willow, not Broomstick-Action Willow'. I think she needs help figuring out the new radar stations we just installed."

Willow sighed in defeat. "Right, I forgot we added GI Joe to the long list of people who want us dead." Her face betrayed her resentment, "But the best surveillance gear in the world is only going to tell us if the chicken-hawks are on their way. What are we supposed to do when they actually get here?"

Dawn answered the question for her, "Whatever we have to. All's fair."

* * *

The truck driver tried in vain to shake off his sudden drowsiness. Driving near the park on a bright day, he hadn't felt the small sting that doomed him. Finally, he succumbed and lost control of his vehicle, sending it crashing into a line of parked cars. The brutal smashing of metal on metal reverberated throughout the area and managed to do what alarm clock didn't.

Wake Xander up out of a deep sleep, that is. He blinked as he opened his eye and attempted to figure out where he was. The Sunnydale native was indoors, in a fairly nice soft bed with the curtains drawn. 'Okay, still go my clothes on, that's a good start,' he thought as he pushed the covers back and sat up. The room blurred slightly as he did so and he stopped. 'That's not of the good. I need to find out where I am.'

Xander managed to get out of the bed easily enough and he started to examine his surroundings more intently. The bed didn't look like it had much seen use, stacks and piles of various things covered the dresser and other furniture in the room. He eyed several photos of a young couple including one taken right outside a church as he reached the door and listened. Hearing nothing, he carefully opened the door and looked out into the empty hall. Carefully, he started walking down the hall, and found himself in an unoccupied kitchen. Xander saw a few pill bottles on a shelf high above the floor. From where he was, he could barely read the labels on them.

"Ah good, you're awake." Hearing a man's voice, he looked around and saw its owner, standing at the other entrance to the kitchen watching him with a look of relief, "Thought might have to call the hospital for you, instead of waiting for Nicole to get home." He approached Xander and offered his hand, "Name's David."

He took the offer and shook it, "Xander. Nice to meet you David, thanks for saving my hide."

The Brit smiled, "I was just doing the right thing. You're lucky I found you on my walk around the neighborhood. Otherwise you might be getting an IV in a hospital right now."

Xander had the images of the dead and the creature flash through his mind 'well one of us was lucky, not sure which yet', "Yeah I was doing… something and well, that happened."

"Going to look at the bodies they found, were you?" David ventured a guess that caused Xander to stiffen, "You'd think after all the horrible things people see, they'd eventually stop wanting to see anymore."

"No, it's not like that," Xander protested as the other man eyed him, "I…I just wanted to see if it was someone I knew." David merely nodded and led the pair out of the kitchen and into the living room, "How did you know about those anyway?" Xander asked.

David's response was to point to a television that was on with the sound off and a graphic informing him that another killing spree had begun. Both of them stopped to watch Sky News, and David turned the volume up.

"And authorities are still unsure about the cause this sudden outbreak of the sleeping sickness. With the death toll now numbering more then twenty victims, people are starting to demand answers. NHB experts are cautioning those residents who live in the outbreak area to remain in their homes and minimize outside contact."

Xander was eyeing the pill bottles along the wall, recognizing the names on the labels, 'Pain pills and an anti-depressant?' David scowled as he shut off the television and pulled a chair away from the table. The American caught the brief flash of pain across his pain as he sat down.

"Well, pull up a chair, Xander. We've got some time yet before Nicole returns from the market."

He did as he was asked and studied the older man, noting the lines on his face.

"I take it you don't believe the news about this epidemic?" Xander commented.

The older man regarded him silently as he brought a cup of tea to his lips. Xander resisted the urge to fidget before he finally answered him.

"My grandfather, my father and me, we all used to work at the Wollerson textile works. So did his brother, my uncles, even my sister worked there. It was tiring work, but as long as you knew what you were doing, it was all right." He paused then continued, "And then they came, bloody bureaucrats. Said the laws made it impossible for the place to keep us all. Had to let us go but not to worry, they'd help everyone who was let go find a job elsewhere, and those who stayed would get more money. My father was one of those they had to let go. He went home and stayed there. My grandfather retired one day and passed on the next Monday. My grandmother used to say, 'he wouldn't know what to do if he couldn't work', and I guess he was right."

Xander choose that moment to speak, "And you got hurt."

David sat up a little straighter and eyed him with suspicion. "I used to work construction back in California, seen a lot of guys come to work hurting. They'd pop some pills before they started working."

Xander's eye didn't leave the other man's as he asked, "Am I right?"

The Brit grunted, "You're sharper then I took you for. Yeah I got hurt because of the inexperienced fools they hired to replace the people they fired. Damn rookie didn't know how to work the machine properly. They said I'm the lucky one, because I can still walk. Some luck that is."

He regarded Xander carefully, "Construction, eh? Is that what happened to your other eye? Someone screw up on your crew?"

"You could say that," Xander answered cautiously, "She tried to do something before the rest of us… were ready."

David raised an eyebrow at that, before he could say anything else, the two men heard the soft padding of small feet. Xander turned as a little boy came into the room. The boy rubbed one hand across his face while clutching a Nerf gun in the other.

"What's the matter lad?" David diverted all his attention to the boy leaving Xander to make the obvious conclusion. The older man bent down and placed his arms on his son.

"I think Ol' Mrs. C is sick, dad."

"And why do you say that, Andy?"

"'Cause, she just fell down and went to sleep when she was in her garden."

As soon as he heard the boy's words, an icy ball materialized in Xander's stomach. "Did you see anyone else?" he asked.

The boy turned around and looked at him with something akin to confusion. "This is Xander, Andy,' David explained. 'He's a tourist from America."

Andy's eyes grew very wide as he stared at him. "Are you a pirate?"

"No, I'm not a pirate." Xander felt a little silly answering the question. "Oh, you're the guy that stalks Batman."

"That's the other company," he corrected the boy as David eyed him oddly. "It's a comic book thing."

"Right, Andy," David elected to move on, "Did anyone else see Mrs. C fall down?"

"No" Andy turned and eyed Xander again, "Are you –"The ringing of the phone interrupted the question. His father quickly answered it and spoke with the person on the other hand before hanging up. "That was Nicole, she'll be home from her shift at the hospital in a few minutes."

"And she has no idea I'm here," he finished for David who nodded. Xander's brow furrowed as he started thinking, 'One, lots of people are dead again. Two, the prime culprit for all these deaths is that creature that got away. Three, these people's neighbor very likely was the latest victim. Which means, that there's a good chance this kid's mom will be next on the hit list.'

He was already moving towards the side of the house with David behind him.

"Look you're in no shape to leave just yet. Nicole will look you over before you go," The older man protested. Behind them trailed the little boy. Xander listened, but his focus was on the street outside. He quickly scanned the area and saw nothing but didn't feel assured. David appeared by his side with a quizzical look on his face as the watched for his wife's approach. After a few minutes, he nodded as a white sedan pulled up. "That's her."

A blonde dressed in scrubs emerged from the vehicle and retrieved a bag from the back seat. As she was doing this, all the hairs on the back of Xander's neck started standing up. He cast anxious glances toward the sky as she approached them, bag slung over her shoulder. She called to her husband as she approached, "Well then, is this patient? He looks healthy enough to me."

Xander took a few backward steps his nervous eye never stopped scanning the skyline. Without looking at her, he spoke "Backyard, NOW." Her eyebrows were raised at the commanding tone in his voice and when he grabbed her hand and drug her to the rear of the building, she and her family became very upset.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Hand's off my wife!"David's angry voice was the loudest as he followed the stranger who appeared to be kidnapping his wife. Once around to the rear of the home, Xander released her wrist and turned to face David. "It's not safe up front, trust me on this. What is really behind these attacks is out there."

David managed to control his anger for a bit longer as he replied, "Oh, and what might be out there that caused you to act like a lunatic?"

Xander paused his gaze shifting rapidly between the husband and wife as he tried to figure out how best to say 'well there's flying demon that's killing people somehow' before the people came with a strait jacket. As he tried to figure out what to say, he literally felt something inside his mind screaming _'NOW'_ and he acted.

Snatching Nicole's arm, he pulled her to the ground in a move that further upset her husband. Make-up, money, napkins and the other assorted contents of her purse quickly spilled onto the ground. David's anger cooled rapidly as something impacted the bricks where her head had been. Xander bent down, grabbed a napkin and used it to pull the object from the bricks.

It vaguely looked like a needle or pin, only smeared with some strange substance. As he glanced between the napkin in his hand and the brick where it had hit, he noticed the discoloration appearing already. Carefully he wrapped the needle in the napkin and pressed it into the woman's hands.

He stepped back as he turned his gaze back towards the sky, his hands went to his waist as he mentally summoned the belt into existence.

"Henshin," and the belt's humming began and, bit by bit, his body was replaced with the strange suit of armor until at last his head transformed into the bizarre mask/helmet combination. A glance at his reflection in a window told him he once again was green.

David and Nicole for their part were shocked, even as Andy got over his surprise and moved towards the stranger. David found his voice first, "What the hell?"

"Fine choice of visitors you invited in, David," his wife noted. He glared at her, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

She shrugged as she stood up and faced him, "It means you're a lousy judge of character, just as always."

Xander was doing his level best to ignore the couple as he focused on trying to find the monster again. Their arguing was starting to grate on his ears when he heard it. There was a faint buzzing sound, like a mosquito made as it flew within earshot. He slowly narrowed in on that sound when Andy reached him.

"Hey Mr. Do you need a gun? Like this?" the little boy dangled his NERF pistol to him. Distracted, he clumsily accepted the gun and two things happened.

First, the toy gun completely changed. One minute it was a toy, the next it was a fairly elaborate and highly detailed hand crossbow with green and gold highlights and a bolt already loaded.

The second thing that happened was a subtle change in the tone of the buzzing, as though the creature had done something.

Without thinking, Xander snatched something out of the air above the boy's head. As he brought it closer, he saw it was another of those spikes.

As he peered in the direction it had been fired from, he unconsciously cocked the crossbow even as he searched the skies.

His eye tracked in on a faint movement, within a second locating the monster flying happily in front of some clouds. He brought the crossbow up, took aim and fired. There was a pause a heartbeat in length before he lowered the weapon and turned towards the formerly squabbling couple.

In silence, he gave the weapon back to the boy, only pausing to note as it returned to its former toy gun state.

He turned his attention back to the parents and spoke, "I think that did it, no more sleeping sickness".

"And just how can you be sure?" David asked.

His answer came in the form of a brief fireball that illuminated the sky in the area Xander had fired.

With a sigh, Xander reverted back to himself.

"Thanks for your help, I'll be going now."


	5. Episode Five 'Reward'

Into the Blue Sky  
By Adrian Tepes  
Rating: PG-13 to R.  
Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment. BtVS is property of Joss Whedon and others, Kamen Rider are the property of Toei Animation, Shotaro Ishinimori and Bandai of Japan.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, takes place during "_No Future for You part 3_".

Episode Five: **Reward**.

Xander leaned back in his chair, scanning the sports page for non-soccer stories and finding few. He settled for reading baseball box scores and pretending to understand the statistics. The former resident of Sunnydale's only brush with athletic ability hadn't endeared sports to him. Xander became aware of a chair being pulled out beside him in one of the castle's many reading/lounge rooms. He lowered the paper and found Renee staring at him with a familiar look. One that Andrew used to have, before launching into a discussion about Star Wars Expanded Universe.

"So whatcha doing?" she asked, then continued, "I have an idea."

Xander thought carefully before replying, "If it involves changing the duty roster so you don't have to clean the kitchen up, no dice."

"No, it's about your belt and powers" she said.

The paper slipped from his hand and he directed his gaze on her. The subject of 'Xander the belt-man' was rather touchy after the warehouse incident. Seeing she had his attention, Renee continued, "The first time you changed, it was to Red. The second time, according to Ms. Summers, you were Blue. Then just recently, you changed again, to Green." Xander nodded, "Yeah, go on."

"Well," she paused and brought up her cell phone, "take a look." Xander looked at the phone's display of himself transformed. A quick study showed it as being shot in the warehouse but aside from that, he saw nothing.

"Am I missing something?" he asked.

"Take a look closer, at your belt." She answered.

Frowning he looked again at the photo and focused his attention on the picture. The picture taken from waist level, gave a closer look at the belt. At the center of the belt was a fist-sized opening, almost a jewel that glowed red matching his armor. To the side, he saw a line of smaller of jewels wrapped around the belt. But closer to the center, there were unique shaped gems, almost button-like. On one side, there were red and blue. On the other side, there were green and purple stones. That's when his eye opened and his gaze went to Renee's face.

"There's a fourth form" he said in a quiet voice.

* * *

"Ah, late as always, Zain."

The larger Gurongi snarled at the man before him. "Shut your mouth, Biran", he ordered as he moved closer to him, "or I'll shut it for you." The other man smiled wider, his mouth filled with cruelly shaped teeth.

Before either could move, the scent of roses filled the air. The smell quickly reached gag-inducing levels and the pair's squabble ended as they turned to face its source. The red-headed woman named Baruba eyed them with contempt. Her cold eyes focused on the larger man. "Zain, why are disrupting this meeting?"

"I wish to know why we were stripped of our right to game" he answered, "As group leader, I wasn't even afforded my turn."

"The Zu lost the right of play when the Talcbere was lost." Baruba's reply drew snickers from the others present.

"Looks like you lost again, Zain." The fat man turned to confront Biran as two more men smirked and chuckled quietly. The elder of the two looked over his glasses at him, "I guess not even you", and he lowered his gaze at Zain's midsection, "can stomach that." That brought chuckles from Biran and the other man, even as Zain's hands began to clench into fists.

"Don't tempt me, Gyraido. You disgraced son of a…"

Baruba's voice and tone cut through the air like a knife, "Zain as leader retains his right to play when he chooses." This brought a smile to his face as she continued on, "However, now is not that time, now it is time for another member of the Me to play."

The third member of the group stepped forward, his long hair pulled back into a ponytail, "I am Giiga, and it's my turn to play."

The red head nodded approvingly, "Excellent. Let's begin."

* * *

"Do you like it?" Renee paused, "I picked it out with you in mind. I like how it clings to curves."

Xander didn't answer as he forced himself to concentrate on the gift she was offering.

'Oh to be seventeen and not scarred with rape/near death memories,' he thought. 'On the bright side, though, this gift was outstanding.'

In front of him was a very new and decidedly sleek looking motorcycle. Not being much of a mechanical-type person unless power tools were involved, the most he could tell was it looked really cool, despite being mostly black. He walked closer and examined it, noticing where the gauges were and how he had no idea what half of them were for. On what he presumed to be the cap for the fuel tank, his eye did notice a distinctive logo. "CHASER?"

The Sunnydale Scooby asked in disbelief, "You went to our vehicle dealer and got THIS for me?"

Renee feigned innocence before answering, "Well you kept complaining about riding the bus and not wanting a car, so I figured what would be the harm?"

"What would be the harm? Renee, we use those people to buy all that stuff we're not supposed to have. There's no telling where they got this or what's on it!"

"Oh that. Well, they built it" she supplied.

"They built it?" he asked.

"Yeah, they said it was a one of a kind custom job, with some 'special' under-the-table modifications. They were going to make more, but only got this prototype made," she traced the logo on the cap and tapped the bike itself, "It's supposed to be made out of a lot of high tech ceramics or something. I wasn't paying as close attention to that part." Her hands went to the gauges, "I do know they wired in all the latest electronics, plus the stuff we normally get on our equipment."

"Care to give it a test drive?"

* * *

A somewhat beaten up sedan pulled into an empty lot alongside the river. The driver, dressed in a circus clown outfit, exited and rushed around to the rear where he opened the trunk. Quickly, he began opening some of the cases and then, with a practiced eye, applying his make-up.

"Right, tough times as these can't be too choosey about the gigs I get. The alternative is to have none at all."

Behind him, the river water seemed to bubble, which unfortunately went unnoticed as he kept at his task. The man finished his task quickly and shut the trunk, but this time he did notice the water seemingly boiling. His curiosity got the best of him and he edged closer. Right at the water's edge, he glimpsed something shift beneath the surface of the water.

"What the h-!" he never finished that sentence as something shot out of the water, wrapped around his neck and yanked him under surface.

Thereafter, the disturbances on the surface ceased.

* * *

"Hey, Professor Williams," Xander greeted the older man.

"Ah, Xander," he glanced behind the American, "And I see you have a new means of transportation."

Xander ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah. It's a gift that I'm learning everything about." His demeanor changed as the pair walked around the park. "Speaking of gifts, you learn anything about the last one I gave you?"

The professor slowed. "Only by inference, I must caution you, that what I may have found is strictly conjecture at this point."

"Hit me Doc," Xander said with a sigh matching the older man's gait.

"In researching this object, I found something curious. In many primitive cultures, there is a tradition amongst the warriors to mark or celebrate one's accomplishments. Sometimes, they wear special designs on their clothing or body paint. There are also cultures that reward achievement with a trophy of some sort, signifying the holder's status within the tribe." The professor turned and looked at him. "The item you recovered bears a strong resemblance to those totems."

Xander paused at those words, "So it's a trophy for killing people?"

* * *

"Hey Beth!"

"Nat!" The blonde schoolgirls hugged as they greeted each other. "So what's your mum say?"

"Typical. I'm only allowed out till ten, school nights." Beth explained.

Behind the girls, a strange figure walked into view. The man known as Giiga wore a water-soaked clown suit. His shoes let out squelches and squeaks as he walked. The suit's dunce cap was askew on his head. Giiga smiled as he looked around, the deceased owner of the suit wouldn't be found for days. His gaze locked at the girls and he walked towards them.

They turned at the sound of his approach and gave him matching looks of disdain.

Giiga smiled and then spat something that splattered on both girls. They naturally shrieked and quickly became belligerent. "What the hell was that?" Beth was furious.

Nat was even more indignant. "You bastard! How dare you spit on us?"

The girls' anger seemed to be mirrored by the smoke rising from their clothes. Each girl subconsciously started rubbing their clothing. The pair felt their skin starting to grow hotter and hotter.

"Nat, do you feel like your body is on fire?" Suddenly their clothes burst into fire and the pain became excruciating as the flames melted their hair and skin.

Nat and Beth shared a look as each as the agony rapidly increased and they turned to stare at their attacker.

"Why?" They managed to get out before the pain and fire consumed them, leaving only ash.

Giiga smiled, his game already off to a strong start.

* * *

'This is much harder then it looks on TV,' Xander thought to himself as he rode through the city. 'Then again, they have both eyes and years of experience,' he finished mentally. 'So, according to the Doctor, those things give out awards for murder – what's that?' He didn't get to finish that thought as screams and the oddly familiar smell of death wafted through the air.

Quickly, the Scooby member directed his new two-wheeled ride in that direction. Parking on an abandoned street, he took off on foot and ran into a lot now ablaze. The intense heat of the flames forced him to halt and proceed carefully through the area.

His foot nudged something that in turn scattered the pieces one of the small fires had been consuming. Xander glanced at the object and wanted to vomit.

It was a human arm, almost completely consumed by fire, what remained of the skin burned, blistering and melting.

Xander peered around the area forcing his lunch to stay put. 'People - these fires were people. Whatever started these fires was burning people alive.'

As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he came upon an odd sight. A young man, roughly his age, dressed in a clown suit that was soaked.

The other man looked at him and grinned, his body changing to a more bestial form. Multiple long limbs sprouted from his body and his head elongated and narrowed.

Xander mentally summoned the belt and transformed as it appeared. "HENSHIN".

He raced at the monster, covering the last few feet in a leap that landed behind the creature. His left arm reached around the thing's neck as he drove his right fist into the creature's back. The creature's skin was more like armor then the previous ones. His initial strike seemed not to trouble the monster in the least. He hammered the beast repeatedly, hoping to end the fight quickly.

That hope died when one of its limbs wrapped around his arm, restraining it. Xander looked closer, recognizing it as he did so. 'Tentacles?'

More of the newly indentified appendages slapped him across the head and knocked him backwards a few feet. The creature turned and growled as an opening in the creature's chest spewed a black, substance at him that he reflexively raised his arm to block.

'Oh, what the? Gross!' Xander thought as the liquid splattered all over his right arm and shoulder. 'Disgusting.' He flicked his arm, flinging some of the liquid away before returning his focus to the beast.

That's when the pain started.

He felt it slightly at first. Then it quickly intensified in a bright, searing pain as his arm burst into fire. He grabbed at his arm, trying to scrape the liquid off even as it burned harder.

'Better think quick or you're barbecue'.

His flailing attempts at putting the fire led to him falling and rolling on the ground to smother the flames. Somehow, he was able to put the fire out, and he tried to locate the creature again. The monster reappeared, using a combination of the black substance and its tentacle arms to rip apart guardrails alongside the river. Holding one of its arms to its chest, the creature dove beneath the water. With a sigh, Xander mentally released his hold on the transformation, reverting to normal and hurrying towards his motorcycle as the sound of sirens filled the air.

He located it and was about to depart when he noticed a familiar face accompanying the authorities. "Doctor Williams!"

Indeed, it was the good doctor who paused, said something to the police officer he was with, and then waved him over. The cop left him and the professor behind and hurried to the scene, leaving the two alone. "You're working with the police now, Doctor?"

The Englishman shook his outstretched hand as he nodded. "They realized the creature that attacked the museum had a lot in common with these other incidents. And they figured that I might know something about them."

"Yeah, well, I just ran into this one." He quickly described the creature. "

It ejects a substance that ignites upon contact with the air? Fascinating," Doctor Williams commented after hearing his description of the incident.

"Except for when it's setting you on fire," Xander replied. "Any ideas?"

The doctor paused, deep in thought, "If the substance was biological in origin, it's likely created within the creature's body. Prolonged exposure to the air would raise the possibility of the substance reacting with the air and destroying its host."

"But why wouldn't that occur anyways as the thing's spitting that stuff?"

"Many creatures possess internal structures within their bodies to house virulent or otherwise toxic substances. Their bodies have evolved chambers where they can release those chemicals in manner that doesn't harm them."  
"So if I can find a way to pierce or disrupt this guy's armor, I can use his own trick against him?"

"In theory, yes, you could. But I would caution you to remember that if all of the creature's reserve liquid ignites, the resulting chemical reaction could be extremely dangerous."

Xander thanked the doctor, returned to his motorcycle and rode away from the area. He had barely gone a block from the area when he heard the beeping in his ear that told him, his phone was ringing. Pulling off the road, he quickly answered, "Hello."

"Xander," Renee's voice greeted him, "Buffy wanted to know when you're coming back?"

"Not for a while," Xander answered. "There's another of those things to be dealt with. Tell her, I'll be back when I can." He hung up and resumed his ride through the city, taking care to stay near the river. Most of the people he passed on the streets were either ignorant of the nearby carnage or busy with their own lives. One of them, however, wasn't and flagged him down.

"Hello, Xander."

"Satsu, what are you doing here?" He was genuinely surprised to see the young Japanese slayer in town.

"Ms. Summers was wondering what you were doing, -" she answered before Xander interrupted her, "And I just told her that I would be back when I was finished."

"-and I knew you would be fine, but I had some errands to run in town," she continued. Xander slumped as he mumbled an apology.

"No big deal, I believed what you taught me back then." Her response drew a puzzled look from him. "Buffy handled weapons, Faith did hand-to hand, Giles did the demon basics, and what did I teach you?"

"You taught us, always believe in yourself and in your friends. That confidence is stronger then any weapon or spell," Satsu explained as he looked sheepish.

"I didn't think anyone remembered that. I thought you would remember the handy ways to conceal a weapon"

"Oh I remembered those," she hefted the umbrella. "But a weapon is easily replaced. Good friends are not."

Xander blinked and nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

* * *

"SHUT UP, GILES!"

Buffy Summers was soaked to her skin and dripping water all over the floor. She was also furious with her former Watcher. Willow and a room full of other Slayers looked on with no small amount of concern as the conversation continued.

"Buffy?" Giles voice came through the cell phone gripped by his former student as she wrung her hair out.

"HER. You're working with her and you didn't even **tell me**." Buffy's voice was a mixture of outrage and shock directed at him.

"I…I can explain later. Please, lives are at stake," he pleaded with her.

"Yeah, like mine," Buffy kept her back to the crowded room as she spoke. "Your Femme Nikita just tried to stuff me down a pool drain."

"WHAT?"

"Faith and her new Drogg 'ported me into the middle of a British invasion, but Will conjured my ticket home."

"And you left Faith behind? Buffy, you have to put Willow on the line." Giles' shock was gone and replaced with a sense of desperation.

"Not until you tell me what the heck is going on," Buffy demanded as her best friend looked on with growing anxiety.

Giles paused before he responded, "…no, I don't want you to be any part of this."

Buffy recoiled emotionally at hearing that. Silently, she took the phone from her ear and offered it to Willow.

The red-head hesitated before taking the phone. "Is everything okay, Buffy?"

"Do what you can for him," Buffy answered her.

Leah and Rowena watched the drama unfold as their leader went from incredible rage to a sudden, shocked silence. They watched as she made her way through the crowd of slayers out of the room.

"Er, Maybe the boss needs some alone time," Buffy heard one of the younger girls say as she started walking away.

"What other kind is there?" she wondered aloud. The pair of slayers watched and heard every word as she departed.

"Think we ought to tell her that Mr. Harris went into town?" Leah questioned her sister Slayer.

"No, let Satsu do it when she gets back."

* * *

Xander and Satsu rode through the city, stopping to let her do her errands as needed.

Xander fidgeted with his phone while she was inside one of the many smaller stores in the city. The one thing he hated about dealing with vampires and demons was the waiting, so it was almost a relief when he heard its ringtone. "Hello, Doctor."

"Xander, there's a report of something going on a lumberyard nearby."

Xander waved frantically at Satsu through the store's window front, as he asked, "and that's where exactly?"

The sound of an explosion rocked the area and sent a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Never mind, Doc, I think I can find it." He hung up as the Japanese slayer emerged from the store and the pair headed for the site of the attack. Xander stopped his bike a block from the area and they covered the remaining distance on foot.

"Satsu, you probably should wait here, might look strange if the locals see a girl fighting with a monster," he suggested as they got closer.

"And you can always hide beneath your armor," she replied. The slayer watched as he ran off to the area before moving to find an observation spot. In order to keep her cover, she couldn't directly interfere in the fight, but she could at least watch. She found what she was looking for atop another building some distance from the area. At this moment she wished she had remembered her crossbow.

Reaching the area, Xander saw a lumberyard filled with fire. He stepped forward, encountering a tanker truck that had crashed through the yard's chain-link fence and crashed into one of the many burning lumber piles. His eye constantly scanned the area, looking for anyone. The smoke spread throughout the area, obscuring his vision and burning his eye.

Despite this, he thought he saw something and reacted instinctively, dodging as something slashed through the air. Mentally, he called out for the belt as a second object, subconsciously identified as a tentacle, smacked into his body and sent him sprawling. Xander started to stand up as yet another tentacle struck, knocking him backwards and bouncing his head off something. The monster strode into view, seemed to regard him and made a laughing sound.

Now dazed, he felt something splatter nearby. 'That burning stuff.'

Xander looked up and saw that a large portion of the mysterious liquid had been splashed against the tanker truck, where it was starting to smoke and he could guess what was going to happen.

'It's either now or never,' Xander thought as he got to his feet and called out, "HENSHIN!"

Satsu realized that Xander was in severe danger and leaped off the roof. She was doing her best to make her way through the streets and headed towards the lumberyard.

The few hundred yards separating her from the yard probably saved her life as the tanker truck went up a massive fireball and sent out a wave of heat across the area. The explosion also shook the ground knocking the Japanese slayer off her feet.

She scrambled and stood up quickly, straining her eyes to pierce the haze. Through the smoke and fire, she could make out a dark form looming. Satsu gripped her umbrella and gave it a quick turn, releasing the switch inside it and revealing a sword blade hidden inside. The figure moved effortlessly through the flames, and she stopped when she saw it.

The figure's outline resembled the previous forms Xander had taken. The chest armor was much larger, with more pronounced shoulder guards. The eyes were a deep purple which also outlined the breastplate of the armor. As she watched, this form's movements lacked the smoothness and grace of the other forms; instead, he moved slowly with a great deal of deliberation. From within the nearby smoke, came another tentacle that wrapped around Xander's right arm. Satsu observed the tentacle tighten as though it was yanking, but Xander barely budged at first.

Then he took a few steps in the direction of the tentacle and stopped. He gathered the little bit of slack advancing toward the monster had given him, and pulled hard. Satsu's slayer sharp hearing detected the sound of the monster being yanked off its feet. Another impressive yank from Xander hauled the monster into view.

Satisfied, Xander strode towards the beast with a measured walk. The creature retaliated with its many limbs, attempting to knock him back and failing. He reached the creature with one of its tentacles wrapped around his arm. His free arm reached down and picked up the creature, just high enough for his other hand to administer several, sharp punches.

Unlike the ones he'd dealt when he was red, the purple form's blows were felt by the creature as its limbs went slack and limp. Still holding the creature with one hand, his free hand grabbed onto it as well. Effortlessly, he pressed the creature high above his head and then tossed it back into the lumberyard. The monster bounced off one of the burning piles of lumber, receiving a face full of ash.

It got to its feet, roaring and charged an unmoving Xander. The creature almost touched him when he stepped to the side and delivered a vicious elbow strike to its head, knocking it to the ground. He turned around as if surveying the situation for the first time and saw a crowbar lying on the ground. As the Scooby turned to walk that way, the creature charged him again, trying to drive its shoulder into his stomach. Xander was pushed back few steps before he braced himself with his legs. Then he brought his hands together overhead, than slammed them into the creature's lower back, effectively stopping it. He pinned the creature's head between his knees and gripped an arm in either hand. With a grunt, Xander pulled the beast to its feet, than jumped backwards. These actions combined to drive the monster face first into the ground, crushing its face and leaving a hole behind.

Xander released the limp arms of the beast, got to his feet and walked towards the crowbar. Behind him, the creature twitched but, otherwise, didn't move. Reaching the crowbar, he picked it up and held it aloft. As he did so, the crowbar transformed to a sword with a wide hilt. The base of the sword was purple with gold inlays.

Pleased with his new weapon, Xander turned back to the monster and started walking. By this point, it had regained its senses and lashed out with its tentacles. He met the assault with slashes and cuts of the sword, leaving the ends of the tentacles laying on the ground and the creature howling in pain.

Maddened, the monster stood up and began spitting its ink-like chemical at him. Small splashes of the substance struck him, but didn't slow him down. When he had closed to within a few feet of the beast, it spat the largest glop of material it could muster at him and scored a direct hit on his chest. This time, Xander paused as the substance began its familiar chemical reaction of smoking, then burning white-hot, generating a huge amount of smoke. The creature cried triumphantly and stepped closer to inspect its handiwork.

That's when the sword blade Xander had created, flashed through the smoke and pierced its hide, impaling the creature.

He moved through the smoke, pushing the sword into its body right up to the hilt, which he twisted. Satsu watched as the creature screamed in pain, and tried to use its tentacles to force either Xander away or the blade from his grasp, and failed at both.

As she looked on, the now familiar symbol appeared where the blade had pierced the beast, glowing ever more brightly. At length, the creature's strength failed and it slumped forward on the blade. The life fled from its body moments before it exploded into a cloud of greenish mist and fire that quickly dissipated.

Xander emerged, unharmed, from the explosion and discarded the sword, which reverted to its former state, a lowly crowbar form.

Xander cancelled his transformation and staggered away from the area. Satsu moved to meet him.

"Let's get out of here."

"Right."

* * *

Someone else had witnessed what was going on and came away with a different conclusion.

Zain, the leader of the Zu group had seen the beginning of the battle before the combination of smoke and fire had obscured everything.

"Could the legend be true?" He mused as he walked parallel to the battle scene.

Zain's path took him near a kennel where numerous dogs immediately raced to the fence and started barking. The Zu leader tried to ignore them as he thought more about what he had not seen.

'The Rinto of this world are different from others. Why?'

The sharp, piercing bark of a small terrier finally broke his train of thought and he snarled as he turned to face the animals.


	6. Episode Six 'Name'

Into the Blue Sky  
By Adrian Tepes  
Rating: PG-13 to R.  
Summary: The actions of Champions and Chosen bring changes across their world. This is the story of how some of those changes might have gone.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment. BtVS is property of Joss Whedon and others, Kamen Rider is the property of Toei Animation, Shotaro Ishinimori and Bandai of Japan.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you.

Timeline: S8 comics, Begins during "_No Future for you Part 3_" and continues through "_No Future for you Part 4_".

{ word } indicates thoughts.

A young black woman in her mid-twenties attired in standard military dress exited the chopper, holding her hand closer to her head. "Twilight, are you here? 'I humbly request your audience' and all that crap."

Not receiving a response, she kept going. "I bear your mark," she called as she held up her palm with his symbol inscribed on it, "now give me my damn audience!"

"Calm yourself, Lieutenant Molter," a voice from within the black night spoke, disturbing the night air as its owner floated into sight behind her. Unfazed, Molter turned to address him, "You're not gonna be walking on air when you hear what I have to say. Our man on the inside confirms that Summers is still alive. Your goons failed."

"Rodon and Genevieve were not my minions…they were my targets." His response surprised the army woman.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded. "This whole operation was about neutralizing two of your own soldiers?"

Twilight loomed above and in front of her, "No, it was about manipulating our enemies into waging this ugly war for us. A tactic crucial for bringing the age of magic to a close. By pitting Watcher against Warlock and Slayer against Slayer, we have pushed even the victors to remove themselves from the chessboard."

Molter clearly remained unconvinced, since she responded, "Who cares about a couple of rooks when the queen is still in play? How can you see this is a victory when Buffy's narrow ass lives to fight another day?"

Twilight settled on the ground as dawn began breaking. "Let her have the day, lieutenant." He turned to face the sun. "Night falls soon enough."

A soft cough drew their attention to another figure on the mesa. A man in his mid-thirties dressed in a wool trench coat, with coal-black hair.

"Lieutenant", the man pushed his glasses back on his nose as he spoke. "Twilight, sir. There are still plans to be made and implemented."

"Captain Fenris." Twilight's voice seemed to twist and scramble the air itself, "Details."

* * *

Xander's thoughts raced through his head as he maneuvered around the city streets. 'That was intense, scary but intense. { Purple is really strong, Green lets me see or hear anything, Blue is fast and Red… well Red's missing something. } He felt a nudging in his ribs as Satsu was attempting to get his attention. Nodding, the Scooby pulled the bike over in an alley, then removed his helmet as Satsu waited. She held up her cell-phone for him to see. Onscreen was a text from Willow that simply read, "Faith."

He pulled out his own phone and hit the speed dial. "Hey, Will, what's going on? No, I'm with Satsu and she got your text." Xander then listened as his best friend from Sunnydale filled him in on what had happened. He didn't interrupt her until the end, "So Giles has Faith doing something he doesn't want us to know about."

His eye scanned the skyline as he continued speaking, "And Buffy didn't take it well."

"Not at all," Willow's uneasy voice responded, "she just said help him however he can and left. When are you coming home?"

That caught him flat-footed, "What? Is something going on?"

"Buffy's upset and needs to talk to someone" Willow paused, "and Renee's already making plans to come find you if you stay out by yourself."

Xander mentally considered what he knew before responding, "I'm not coming back to the castle for a while."

"What? Why?" Willow's surprise was evident in her voice.

Taking time to look around, Xander briefly filled her in on what he had learned from the professor. When he finished, there was silence on the other end as Willow processed what she had been told.

"So these things, nobody knows what they are, only that they're killing a lot of people. And," here the Wicca paused, "they're getting awarded for it?"

"Yeah, crazy as it sounds I don't think we've ever seen anything like them before." Xander turned around and watched as Satsu seemed to be texting in a fast and furious manner. "I can't leave the city yet, until I know a little more about what's going on, Will. Right now, my little change-up is the only thing that seems to stop them for good."

"I can always come in and cast a –" She was interrupted, "I think that would be a bad idea."

"Why?"

"The locals are nervous, lots of dead bodies, not a lot of answers. Last thing we need or want is a drastic and highly visible sign something supernatural is going on."

Xander watched as Satsu appeared to finish and put her phone away before saying, "It'd be much easier for me to do this by myself."

"Buffy won't like it," Willow countered, "but I understand. What do I tell Renee?"

"Tell her I'll be back before she knows it." Xander finished, put away his own cell and approached Satsu again, "Look, I'm going to be investigating in town further, and I can't take you back to the Castle."

She waved her hand, "I figured as much, so I made my own plans for heading back." She gestured to a nearby alley. Puzzled, Xander turned and saw a faint glow reflected on the wall. Seconds later, one of Willow's girls, a Wiccan/Slayer emerged with a pleasant look on her face. He nodded as she approached, already deep in thought.

* * *

The former driver of the bus struggled against the iron grip of the monster that held him. He had been on his normal route, albeit with fewer passengers, when something happened. A bald, fat man had crossed the road, not bothering to look at traffic at all. So the driver had responded in typical fashion by blowing his horn to alert the man and everyone else to pay attention.

That's when all hell broke loose. The man had turned with a hate-filled glare on his face. Before the driver could really understand what was going on, the stranger had reached the door to the bus and entered. While still on the steps, "he" had changed into a horrifying monster that had slaughtered the other passengers after hurling the driver through the windshield.

Afterwards, the beast had exited the vehicle to find the driver still alive and had picked him off the ground. The driver struggled to form words, having only the strength to ask, "What are you?", before it broke his neck and dropped his body to the ground.

Zain resumed his human form as he left the area, his thoughts not on the carnage he had created, but rather on what he had seen.

{ Could it be those old stories were true? That he would exist again? But why here? }

Such were the thoughts of a monster.

* * *

"What a mess," the detective looked at the carnage.

Bodies had been ripped and torn apart, blood and other fluids splattered across the remains of the building. Here and there, those skilled in the medical arts attempted to aid those that survived. And the sound, a ragged chorus of animals crying out in pain or succumbing to death's touch. Dogs whined as they lay, paralyzed and unable to move. Cats meowed and screeched, some scratching those that tried to comfort them.

It was either Providence's will that saw no human casualties in the attack or the work of Satan himself that saw this level of violence against these creatures - the detective couldn't decide which. He did see the new expert who was assisting the department arrive and walked over to greet him.

"Hello, Dr. Williams," he nodded at the older man. "Come to see this slaughterhouse?"

"Detective," the professor visibly blanched at what he saw, "the lumberyard incident seems to be under control, despite the loss of life. Tell me what happened here?"

The detective retrieved his PDA, tapping on a few buttons to bring up his notes.

"According to witnesses, they saw a huge, thing appear, it ripped through the gate and started attacking the cages. Anything it could reach, it tore apart. Lasted about twenty minutes and then it bashed an opening through that wall," he pointed to a huge opening, "and left. Rescue workers arrived within seconds, all available veterinarians, animal rescue, etc… have been called. An awful mess."

"I see, and is that all?" Williams inquired.

The policeman replaced his PDA. "I have an uncorroborated report that a heavyset man was seen in this immediate area before the attack." Looking over the older man's shoulder, he saw what could only be a group of media types headed his away, "And that's all I need. Might want to make yourself scarce, Doc."

Williams nodded, advancing deeper into the chaos, and watching as the policeman attempted to head off the press. He managed to reach what was a de facto staging area where the surviving animals were being treated. This also put him in range of a radio that was in the midst of another update. "And our top story is the unexplained massacre of a city bus. Ten people, including the driver, are confirmed dead with reports of at least fifteen passengers on this particular bus."

The professor took out his cell-phone, fumbling with it as he did so, and started manually dialing a number from memory.

"Hello Xander."

* * *

Renee watched as her fellow slayer shimmered into view. She quickly walked over to the other girl, greeting her as she approached. "Hey, Satsu."

The Japanese slayer responded, "Renee, he's fine." The dark skinned girl slowed, a faint blush on her cheeks, "How do you know…?"

The other girl waved her hand dismissively. "Forget about it, what's up?"

Renee quickly filled her in, noting the growing look of apprehension and anger on her face. Making a decision, she edited her comments. "Buffy sounded fine when we checked on her later."

Satsu ignored her as she strode away, "Xander said he was going to remain in the city for a while longer. I'm going to find Ms. Summers."

* * *

Zain watched as the pathetic creature struggled for a few more seconds as its life faded away. This one and the others had drawn his ire for generating that incessant noise audible from blocks away. Thus, they had been perfect for his game.

"Zain" he stopped and waited as a group of familiar figures appeared nearby. Biran was snarling in rage, his hands clenched at his side, and the other Gyarido stared in silence. Baruba ignored the duo and addressed him directly. "What are you doing Zain?"

"I am invoking my right of game as leader of the Zu."

The red-head's eyes narrowed as she spoke, "And you understand that by doing so, all that you risk?"

"Their lives are meaningless to me." Biran's anger finally boiled over. "Enough of this bullshit. You're stealing MY turn!"

Gyarido eyed his compatriot with a sense of amusement as he ranted, "It was my turn to play next. The Zu shouldn't even be allowed near the game."

"Quiet!" Baruba's icy tone ended any further discussion. "Zain has invoked his right to game as leader of the Zu. And in doing so, he understands both the rewards for success and punishment for failure."

Zain nodded, "I do. I shall complete my game and face the legend myself."

Gyarido raised an eyebrow, "Legend? The old tales were true?"

They watched as the leader of the Zu ignored them and departed with Biran staring after him. Undisguised hate burned in his eyes, prompting the other man to speak. "You know Biran, if and when Zain fails, your chance to game begins immediately."That drew a razor toothed smile from the other and he sent after Zain. Neither had noticed Baruba's face change at Zain's mention of a legend.

* * *

"Thanks for the lift, Allie," Renee hugged the other girl. Allie returned the embrace, saying, "No problem, Renee. Willow wanted us to keep in practice with the teleportation spells, after all." She recited the incantation to return back to the castle and waved goodbye to her friend as she vanished.

Renee turned and headed out of the alleyway, nearly bumping into a large brutish man that was headed past her. The African slayer had only taken a few steps when a scream of pure terror caused her to whirl around.

The fat man behind her had his hands wrapped around a young man's neck and was in the process of strangling him with the cord from his headphones. Reacting on pure instinct, she dashed up to him and kicked the larger man's hands, breaking the hold. The almost murder victim dropped to the ground, and both he and his would be killer stared at her before the latter changed.

One second she was looking a large, barrel-chested man, than his entire body shifted and changed, becoming something only vaguely humanoid. His head widened and a pair of large ivory teeth protruded from his bottom lip as he reoriented himself and began advancing towards her. The boy used the opportunity to flee while Renee launched herself at the monster, attacking it relentlessly with kicks and punches, all to no effect.

Eventually, it just grabbed her and smashed her headfirst into a wall. With her head ringing, Renee almost missed the loud cry in the background. But she didn't miss the red blur that was Xander leaping into action and tackling the beast.

He drove punches, elbows and knees into it with no more success then she had. The large monster grabbed him about the neck and attempted to throttle him as well.

Xander reacted on instinct and kicked the monster as hard as he could in the chest, driving it backwards and breaking its grip. The beast staggered and attempted to regain its balance. However, a second assailant attacked it, knocking him backwards.

After a few seconds, Xander realized that the newcomer was another of the strange monsters, covered with scales and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that gleamed. The two things exchanged blows before the larger one fled the area. Xander looked for the second one before canceling his transformation and returning to normal.

"What was that all about?" He wondered aloud as Renee approached.

"Maybe the big one did something to the other one?" She offered, "What happened to the other one?"

"I checked his pedigree" Xander responded, "Why are you here? Aren't all hands on deck for crisis Buffy?"

"She has enough people to look after her and keep the sharp instruments handy."

The sound of a car horn drew both of their attention and they saw Dr. Williams waving at them from behind the wheel.

* * *

Satsu watched as Buffy and Willow exchanged furious whispers. Whatever had happened was important enough to have the two long time friends separated from the group. The Japanese slayer briefly pondered trying to eavesdrop, but decided against it.

{ Something Mr. Harris said about respecting others privacy. }

The thought of the male leader of the group distracted her momentarily. {Xander's new abilities are very interesting and somewhat frightening. I do have to admit, being fireproof is one thing a slayer isn't, that she could use. }

Out of the corner her eye, she caught sight of movement and turned to watch as a small, oddly shaped beetle struggled into view. It opened its mandibles tentatively, then its rear carapace opened and a pair of thin but functional wings helped the insect to take flight.

Leah and Rowena watched nervously, their eyes shifting from the pair to her and back again. The trio shared an unspoken agreement about the title of their situation, waiting.

* * *

"So you're saying that this other one ran up and attacked the larger one? This is a very intriguing development," Dr. Williams said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Renee fiddled with her new watch and asked, "Anyone got the time?"

Wordlessly, the doctor handed her his phone so she could use its clock to set her watch.

"Before the full Giles gets going," Xander interrupted, "let's remember that this one thing has been responsible for a lot of dead people recently. How do I stop him?" He paused then added, "When he was choking me, I used my leg to kick him in the chest."

The older man stopped rubbing his chin and brought up his notepad, flipping through some pages, his eyes focused on something he had written hours earlier. "The sites of attacks in the past few hours include an animal boarding/grooming house, a gathering of young people in their vehicles, at least one electronics dealer where numerous televisions and radios were destroyed. Perhaps it despises modern conveniences. As for your method of attack, perhaps the red form you describe is stronger in unarmed combat and using a kick would further that conclusion."

A gasp from Renee drew both men's attention and they watched as she dropped the professor's phone on the ground.

"Are you all right, Renee?" Xander asked as the Englishman bent over and picked up his phone. He flinched as he flipped it open, piquing Xander's interest.

The American stepped over to him and looked at the phone. Images of mangled and broken animals turned his stomach. One image of a dog horribly bent in particular seared into his mind.

{ Good Christ, what kind of monster would do that? }

He turned his face away from the gruesome sight, trying to clear the images from his mind's eye and dismiss the imagined sounds from his thoughts.

{ Wait, that's it. The animals, the kids, the store… }

"It's noise that does it. He hates loud sounds. The big guy, he hates loud sounds. That's why he attacked that electronics store. They had all their stuff turned up and on. And those kids, I bet they were showing off their speakers."

"And the animals, of course, would respond to such an alien monster near them audibly," The older man finished.

Xander nodded in agreement as he mentally listed all of the things that could create large amounts of noise in the area.

"Tell me doc, is there any construction going on around here?"

* * *

Bored, the driver of the front end loader worked his controls to dump yet another load of dirt into the back of a dump truck. This would be the truck's final load before it and the rest of the crew knocked off for the day. He put the vehicle in reverse and started backing up to allow the other truck to pass and be on its way. His ears were long since used to the blaring beep alerting others that the vehicle was moving backwards.

The sound of metal groaning and the sudden, jarring stop jerked him out of his daze and he twisted around to see a large man standing with his arms on the machine and with a fierce look on his face. "Hey, what the hell man? Clear out."

As an answer, the man changed. That is to say, his entire body twisted and rearranged itself into a horrific monster with massive tusk-like teeth protruding from its lower jaw and snarled at him. The driver didn't waste any further time and bailed on the vehicle, running screaming for his life.

Not that far away, Xander pulled up on his bike and removed his helmet. Fortunately for him, the monster hadn't yet noticed him. He summoned the belt into existence and spoke a single word, "Henshin". The armor quickly formed, replacing his normal appearance. Then, acting on his emotions, he charged the beast and tackled it.

The monster barely had time to register his presence before it and he tumbled down into the construction site. He regained his feet first and started pounding the beast with a barrage of punches and elbows. The strikes barely budged the beast and it retaliated with a backhand swing. Xander dodged backwards, then planted a kick into the thing's torso which knocked it off balance. The beast tried to close with him and was promptly kicked again in the chest. The transformed Scooby realized his advantage, and used a variety of kicks to stagger the beast. He took advantage of its condition to improvise a judo throw, knocking the creature face first into a deep pile of mud and dirt.

Xander paused as the beast lay on the ground, and he could feel his body tremble as his emotions raged within him. The images of the slaughtered people, the animals, blood splattered everywhere played in his mind. He struggled to retain his focus. { Got to finish this but how….Buffy. }

Renee watched from where she lay off to one side as Xander went from an 'on guard' pose to spreading his arms wide apart. At the same time, she saw a flash of yellow energy, spark through from the red jewel within the center of the belt and travel down his leg. Then he charged towards the beast as it stood up.

When he closed to within feet of the beast, he leapt towards it, tumbling forward in mid-air. As Xander came out of the roll, he released the pent-up rage in a shout, extending his leg towards the monster in a leaping kick that connected with bone-shattering force. The thing went flying backwards, parts of its jaw and tusks flying in the other direction. There was a pause as each combatant evaluated what had happened before the beast began to stir.

Zain was woozy, his vision cloudy as he felt enormous pain wrack his body. The pain grew outward from where he had been kicked by the unknown figure.

{ This is it. This is how it ends. The legends were true, after all. This one exists. }

He made it to his feet, his eyes settling on his red and black executioner, sparking one last fit of energy to stagger towards him, even as the energy arced and through his waist. With his last bit of strength, he raised his arms towards the other and called to him, "**KUUGA**!"

Then his body was consumed in an explosion that blasted apart his remains, never seeing his killer shift in response with a surprised demeanor.

Xander willed himself to revert to his normal state, his eye turning to meet Renee with a whole new set of unanswered questions on his mind.


End file.
